Kenya takes the lead as Africa redefines climate finance
M-taka agents at Maendeleo Recovery Facility weighing recyclable materials in Kisumu. The company won the CircularTech Award for digitising waste collection and creating job opportunities.
What you need to know:
- At the 13th Sankalp Africa Summit held at the Sarit Expo Centre, over 1,500 delegates, including 200 investors and 400 startups from the Global South witnessed a major shift in Africa's economic direction.
- Kenyan innovators dominated, winning three of the five top awards at the Sankalp Africa Awards 2026.
Nairobi's Silicon Savannah has proven it is more than just a regional tech hub. At the 13th Sankalp Africa Summit held at the Sarit Expo Centre, over 1,500 delegates, including 200 investors and 400 startups from the Global South witnessed a major shift in Africa's economic direction. Kenyan innovators dominated, winning three of the five top awards at the Sankalp Africa Awards 2026. Their success underscored the summit's theme, 'South-South Rising: Building Bold Futures Together,' signalling Africa's determination to chart its own course beyond reliance on the Global North.
Since its launch in 2009, the Sankalp Forum has channelled $800 million into impact-focused ventures that prioritise social and environmental returns. For Kenyans, this capital influx validates a maturing ecosystem transitioning from paternalistic aid to collaborative, investment-based models. Christiane Haziyo, a programme manager at the EU Delegation to Zambia and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, noted a major political shift underway, with the EU pivoting toward green growth and industrialisation. Through initiatives like the Global Gateway, which plans to invest €150 billion in Africa, the focus has moved to building self-sustaining infrastructure rather than relying on grant cycles.
This new era is driven by shared experiences across emerging markets. Venkat Kotamaraju, partner and director at Intellecap, argues that African leaders have more to learn from countries like India or Bangladesh, which face similar challenges, than from copying models from the US or Europe. This thinking is evident in the evolution of the circular economy, which has shifted from being viewed as mere waste collection to a significant economic opportunity centred on resource efficiency and value retention.
The Aavishkaar Group and Intellecap have managed 255,000 metric tonnes of waste and reduced 17,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions globally. In India, they transformed four million kilos of fashion waste into new products and jobs, offering a replicable model for Kenya's green growth. Kenyan innovators are already taking note. M-taka Solutions Limited, led by CEO and founder Benson Abila, won the CircularTech Award for digitising waste collection and creating job opportunities. Rio Fish Ltd claimed the AgriTech Award for sustainable fish farming, while Malaica AG, headed by Victor Murage Mbugua, received the HealthTech Award for its innovative approach to maternal healthcare.
Yet, translating bright ideas into scalable businesses remains challenging. Kotamaraju notes that many entrepreneurs struggle because they lose sight of market realities. Intellecap addresses this by involving waste pickers and small farmers from the outset. This inclusive approach is critical, particularly given that 54 per cent of the 140 million underserved customers reached by the Aavishkaar Group are women.
Still, a significant hurdle persists: the "missing middle": companies too large for seed grants but not yet ready for commercial loans. Many banks remain cautious about investing in circular economy ventures, stifling growth.
To bridge this gap, the EU deploys milestone-based repayable grants, essentially zero-interest loans that instill financial discipline while helping startups build track records that attract commercial banks. Venkat notes the multiplier effect: for every $1 invested, companies have secured an additional $3.09 in follow-up funding.
But fixing Africa's capital flows requires looking inward. Nishdeep Sethi, group director of Structured Finance at the African Guarantee Fund, insists the continent has sufficient capital; it simply needs better deployment systems. He calls on pension funds to hold more open meetings and create innovative investment vehicles.
Africa's financial system is often labelled "leaky," attracting less than one per cent of global venture capital. Sarah Nimu Ngamau, founder of Innovative Capital Mobilisation in Africa, urges collaboration and greater recognition of fund managers' role in channelling money where it's needed most. She argues that investing in local production could stabilise African currencies, as import dependence weakens them. By manufacturing more locally, Africa can build capital reserves and reduce risk.
Vineet Rai, founder of the Aavishkaar Group, suggests Africa follow India's lead: have private lenders invest in strategic sectors like agriculture, and leverage the continent's youthful population to grow pension funds.
The path forward demands both capital and capacity-building. Christiane warns that funding without technical knowledge leads to wasted resources. Programmes like the EU's
Switch to Circular Economy are already facilitating knowledge transfer across 13 African countries, with Kenya recognised as a frontrunner in digital innovation and enforcing
Extended Producer Responsibility rules; policies holding manufacturers accountable for their products' end-of-life disposal.
This systemic evolution was detailed in the Aavishkaar Group's Impact Report, presented by Sowmya Suryanarayanan, which advocated for five critical shifts: taking risks on the unproven, institutionalising networks, and future-proofing results to prioritise long-term sustainability over short-term metrics.
The summit also celebrated diverse regional successes. Sosai Renewable Energies from Zambia and Nigeria won the ClimateTech Award for clean cooking innovations, while Somo Africa Trust received the FinTech Award for inclusive finance work across East Africa.
As Takehiro Yasui from JICA concluded, the ultimate goal is building a robust impact investing system that balances risk and reward, viewing every regional challenge as a market opportunity. By restructuring capital flows and knowledge sharing, Kenya and its neighbours are not merely participating in the global economy; they are redesigning it to fit the African context.
