In the last decade, Kenya has witnessed a strong culture of innovation building in Kenya. A number of start ups have been successfully incubated but require upscaling. Commercialization of climate-tech companies is needed in order to demonstrate the potential and viability of green economic growth.
Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV) was established in 2016 as an independent subsidiary of Kenya Climate Innovation Center. The firm is an independent investment management company based in Kenya seeking to accelerate the development of the clean-tech industry as a whole by providing much needed tailored and targeted financial and managerial assistance support to innovative early stage businesses. KCV seeks to invest in businesses that have relevant products or services, sustainable competitive advantage, good management teams and ethical business practices.
KCV plays the role of a strategic financial investor in developing a profitable investment model in clean tech. It also plays a catalytic role in catalyzing and facilitating investment in clean tech. Some of their products include debt and equity financing services.
KCV is the only Kenya-focused, commercial return investment fund bridging the gap in “early missing middle” capital needs of climate-focused entrepreneurs: KCV is led by a Kenyan team, and makes Kenya investments, in Kenyan Shillings, backed by Kenya-based post-investment support, helping to build the local climate innovation investment ecosystem.
KCV is an innovative “demonstration fund”: KCV seeks to demonstrate that funds like KCV can accelerate the flow of commercial capital to innovations likely to advance climate adaptation and mitigation. Success in Kenya could be replicated in other geographies and/or sectors.
KCV Deploys a Commercially Attractive “Evergreen” Model: KCV is an open-ended fund, and as such, seeks to demonstrate superior market service and competitive advantage potential of an “evergreen” structure. As part of KCV’s demonstration role, KCV intends to demonstrate it can be a commercially attractive investment model, at target scale, which produces returns likely to attract substantial additional, new forms of commercial capital.
KCV Has an Important Role in the Capital Chain: KCV offers a “bridge across the valley of death” to follow on capital, for early stage climate innovators. KCV intends to offer attractive, de-risked deal flow to later stage commercial investors interested in the sectors, but who do not have KCV’s risk tolerance.
KCV’s Unique Investment Thesis: KCV aims to prove that superior financial returns can be achieved by investing a combination of local currency debt and equity in local enterprises driving climate-beneficial innovation, using a “hyper-local focus” investment management model.
KCV is the only “Hyper-Local” early stage investment fund focused on climate innovation in Kenya – KCV is led by Kenyans, was designed to serve Kenyan entrepreneurs, and support them with (mostly) Kenyan post-investment support resources.
