Kenya has launched the world’s first climate innovation hub in Nairobi to stir green innovation in a country synonymous with mobile innovation.
The Kenya Climate Innovation Center (CIC) will finance and accelerate a growing network of locally owned climate innovators and entrepreneurs in the country with its first batch of 70 viable climatic innovations in the next five years.
It is also expected to supply 4,600 direct and over 24,000 indirect jobs within its ten years of existence.
Innovations will seek to lower greenhouse gas emissions, improve climate resilience and promote renewable energy, agriculture, clean water and energy efficiency.
The Climate Innovation Centre is run by the World Bank’s infoDev, with support from the Danish government and UKAid.
According to Alex Alusa, Advisor on Climate Issues in the Office of Kenya’s Prime Minister, the Climate Innovation Center will contribute to Kenya’s transformation to a middle-income country in line with the government’s Vision 2030 strategy.
Alusa said the CIC will enable small and medium enterprises in Kenya and the rest of the region to achieve the essential technological advancement and catalyse innovative technology.
The CIC promises to focus on projects with local relevance and long-term sustainability.
Hosted by the Strathmore Business School, Global Village Energy Partnership
International (GVEP), PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI), the CIC will receive seed funding of US$15 million over a period of five years.
infoDEV also plans to establish six other CIC’s in developing countries with a strong global network to support them.
infoDev, a World Bank global program, helps countries in the developing world make use of the private sector through ICT-enabled innovation, new business and partnership models and toolkits, and networking among entrepreneurs, private sector investors and the donor community through its network of over 300 incubators.
