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Meet the Kenyan financiers investing in sustainable businesses for a cleaner future.

As the global climate crisis continues to grow, the world is looking to its largest companies to make responsible investments and sustainable business decisions. In Nairobi, the team at KCB Group are paving the way for a greener economy by supporting companies with a strong interest in protecting the environment.

KCB Group is the only financial institution in Kenya, and the second across all of Africa  that has achieved accreditation by the Green Climate Fund. With this enormous economical power comes a great sense of environmental responsibility for the population of the country, the continent, and indeed the world. As a recipient bank, KCB is able to co-fund sustainable businesses to ensure steady economic growth, and the scope is enormous. Looking to invest hard in a greatly growing national economy, KCB is able to finance businesses for upto $250 million USD. However by making such large investments, a guarantee of long-term growth is essential, and the key lies in sustainability.

“We must make sustainable investments, or green investments, create green jobs, and this is what we’re looking at as an organisation,” said Joshua Oigara, KCB Group CEO & MD. “We give a new life for the economy to be able to work with private sector partners.”

For KCB, it’s not simply about giving money to businesses that are ready-made, but about forging and helping with the foundations of new, innovative investment opportunities. Working with young companies means more responsibility for KCB, but it also means more involvement, and a better understanding of the goals and inner-workings of a business, for sectors such as agriculture.

An important part of KCB’s success is its national presence. As a bank that’s spread across the country, KCB has been able to reach out and help not only with a number of businesses across Kenya, but it can help with businesses with multiple branches, contacting and reaching out directly to its many clients. The group is able to maintain a local presence on a national level that allows for more hands-on development.

Civil construction company Avcon Contractors was able to expand its telecommunications construction into more than just construction work, focusing on reinforcing infrastructure and beyond. Through financing from KCB, Avcon was able to afford the equipment necessary to begin the construction of green buildings, fit with solar panels and other optimisations. For KCB however, it was more than just a short term investment.

“It’s a holistic process, it doesn’t just end with the financing,” said Frank Onjala, Director, Finance & Operations, Avcon Contractors LTD. “There is a need to work together to help open up the space to create business and site innovations.”

Beyond profit and the bottom line, being able to optimise businesses to create the best, more efficient, sustainable and robust industries possible is at the core of KCB’s message. Together with bright national minds, KCB is able to make an environmental impact. Not just through innovation or financing, but through teamwork and a shared drive for positive change.