“Ak’imuhana kaza imvura ihise”. A Kinyarwanda proverb that loosely translates to ‘What comes from afar arrives after the rain has stopped.’ After the damage is done. You can’t rely on what’s not your own!
This was the cautionary note from Dr. Agnes Kalibata, former President of AGRA, as she underscored the urgency for Africa to champion its own climate solutions. “When your house is on fire and you’re waiting on the neighbor to come to your rescue, it will be too little too late,” she said.
“The climate action we are looking for will come too late if we are waiting on others. That’s why institutions like KCIC are extremely critical. We must build the capacity for Africa to lead and deal with these challenges. Imagine the possibilities if we invest seriously in data ecosystems, empowering farmers & private sector to build a resilient, green Africa.”
Dr. Kalibata spoke on World Environment Day in Nairobi on June 5, 2025, as she presided over the launch of the Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC) 2025-2030 Strategy— a bold new blueprint designed to answer the call for African-led climate action.
Building on twelve years of pioneering support for climate innovators and establishing itself as a regional market leader, KCIC’s new strategy marks a significant shift from primarily supporting individual climate ventures in Kenya to actively strengthening the entire climate entrepreneurship ecosystem across Africa.
“Strategy 4.0 is our commitment to tackling the climate crisis at a scale that matches its urgency,” said Joseph Murabula, CEO of KCIC.
“We believe that by fostering an interconnected ecosystem where finance, technology, policy, and community action converge, we can unlock unprecedented opportunities for green growth and resilience.”
The strategy is anchored on KCIC’s Integrated Climate Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (KICEE) model, which leverages technical support, innovative financing, market system strengthening, policy advocacy, and research. It will also see an extensive enhancement of organizational capacity to ensure KCIC can effectively deliver the strategy.
By 2030, KCIC targets supporting 12,000 enterprises, mobilizing $55M in climate finance, leveraging $33M to supported enterprises, mitigating 1.2M tonnes of CO2, creating 100,000 green jobs, and operationalizing a revolving fund to enhance organizational sustainability.
Working alongside governments, the private sector, development partners, Enterprise Support organizations, grassroot communities, and climate enterprises, it seeks to meet head-on the systemic barriers that have slowed the full potential of the climate entrepreneurship space.
While recounting the worrying statistics of climate extremes in Africa, Kenya’s Climate Envoy, Amb. Ali Mohammed welcomed KCIC’s new strategic focus, lauding its ecosystem approach, and citing it as a key partner in delivering on national climate commitments and championing Africa’s climate agenda.
“The government remains a committed partner and will continue working with KCIC and other stakeholders to ensure that this bold new dawn translates into a brighter, greener and more resilient future for Kenya and our continent,” opined Amb. Mohammed.
The 2024 World Meteorological Organization(WMO) report on the State of the Climate in Africa places the average temperature across Africa at approximately 0.86°C above the 1991–2020 average, making it the warmest year on record.
On average, it is estimated that African countries are losing 2–5 percent of their GDP as a result of climate change, with many diverting up to 9 percent of their budgets responding to climate extremes.
However, global and African efforts in climate adaptation remain subpar. The 2024 UNEP Adapatation Gap Report cites critical global shortfalls for climate finance, with Africa attracting barely 3% of global climate finance.
This stark climate context makes KCIC’s strategy bold and ambitious, but even more so timely and necessary. In her sentiments during the launch, Mette Melson, the Development Co-operation Specialist from the Danish Embassy in Kenya, echoed the urgency, citing synergies between the blueprint and Denmark’s own strategy for cooperation with Africa.
“We too recognise that sustainable development and effective climate action require more than isolated projects; they demand systemic change, the strengthening of entire value chains, and the fostering of enabling environments. We look forward to working together with KCIC in accelerating Africa’s green transition,” she reaffirmed.
In his closing remarks, CEO Joseph Murabula urged stakeholders to join KCIC as co-creators and ecosystem builders, emphasizing that the new strategy is not just an organizational evolution but a call to collective locally-led action and systemic transformation.
