Kenya has unveiled the inaugural cohort of the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA), selecting 12 high-potential climate businesses to receive investment readiness support under a UK government-backed programme aimed at unlocking private capital for the country’s fast-growing green economy.
The accelerator, funded by the UK Government, delivered locally by Open Capital and supported by the British High Commission Nairobi, brings together startups and growth-stage businesses developing solutions across clean energy, climate-smart agriculture, circular economy, carbon removal, green manufacturing and digital climate technologies.
The programme comes as Kenya cements its position as one of Africa’s leading climate innovation hubs, attracting increasing investor interest in businesses supporting the continent’s energy transition while addressing food security, waste management and industrial decarbonisation.
The selected companies will receive technical assistance to strengthen their investment readiness, refine fundraising strategies and engage prospective investors as they seek to scale commercially.
“The CFA is a global technical assistance programme that helps high-potential climate businesses strengthen their investment readiness and unlock the capital needed to scale,” Open Capital said in announcing the inaugural cohort.
Climate finance gains momentum across Africa
The launch reflects growing momentum behind climate finance across Africa, where investment has increasingly shifted towards commercially viable businesses capable of delivering measurable environmental and economic outcomes.
Despite contributing less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa remains among the regions most exposed to climate change.
According to the African Development Bank, the continent requires climate finance running into hundreds of billions of dollars by 2030 to meet adaptation and mitigation needs, yet funding continues to fall significantly short.
Against that backdrop, programmes such as the Climate Finance Accelerator are designed to bridge one of the biggest gaps facing African climate businesses: investment readiness.
Many startups struggle not because of weak technologies, but because they lack the financial structures, governance systems and investor engagement strategies needed to attract institutional capital.
Twelve businesses span Kenya’s climate economy
The inaugural cohort brings together companies working across several strategic sectors supporting Kenya’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
Among them is Agsol, which manufactures super-efficient solar-powered grain mills that replace diesel-powered milling systems, reducing emissions while lowering operating costs and creating women-led milling enterprises across rural Africa.
Brentwood Avo Limited is transforming agricultural waste into organic fertiliser while developing eco-briquettes, creating circular economy solutions that strengthen climate-smart farming and agricultural processing.
Renewable energy developer Edge Consult International Ltd develops, owns and operates commercial and industrial solar plants while providing engineering, procurement, construction and operations services for renewable energy projects.
Climate fintech also features strongly in the cohort.
FlexPay Technologies operates an AI-powered “Save Now, Buy Later” platform that enables low-income households across Africa to access clean energy products without debt, expanding financial inclusion alongside renewable energy adoption.
Circular economy and sustainable agriculture attract investor attention
Waste management and agricultural sustainability represent another major investment theme.
Limu Plastic Recyclers Ltd produces recycled plastic raw materials as sustainable alternatives to virgin plastics while reducing environmental plastic pollution.
LiveMo Limited connects pastoralist communities to markets through sustainable fodder production, animal healthcare services and climate-resilient livestock value chains designed to improve rural livelihoods.
Mercus Solutions Limited specialises in converting waste bones into calcium products, meat meal and fat meal, demonstrating how industrial waste streams can be transformed into commercially valuable products.
Food processor Nutri Nuts And Fruits sources macadamia nuts, cashews and dried fruits from more than 6,000 Kenyan smallholder farmers while converting agricultural waste into biochar, renewable energy and carbon credits.
Carbon removal and solar energy move into the spotlight
Carbon removal technologies are also represented.
Octavia Carbon, Africa’s first direct air capture company, is developing technology capable of removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere for permanent storage in Kenya.
The renewable energy sector features prominently through Orb Energy, which manufactures high-efficiency solar panels while integrating supply, installation and maintenance services across commercial, industrial and residential markets.
Tamarso is expanding clean energy access through commercial solar installations and solar-powered mini-grids across rural Kenya and Somalia, helping replace diesel-powered electricity generation while supporting economic development.
Completing the cohort is ThriveAgric East Africa, an agricultural technology business linking African smallholder farmers to financing, climate-smart farming practices and local and international markets to strengthen food security and improve farm productivity.
Building Africa’s next generation of climate investment opportunities
The Climate Finance Accelerator forms part of a broader international effort to increase private sector investment into climate solutions across emerging markets.
By helping businesses strengthen governance, sharpen investment propositions and connect with institutional investors, the programme aims to address one of the most persistent bottlenecks facing African climate innovation (access to growth capital).
For Kenya, whose economy already generates more than 90% of its electricity from renewable energy and has positioned itself as a regional leader in geothermal, solar and wind power, the accelerator reinforces ambitions to become East Africa’s leading destination for climate investment.
For investors, the inaugural cohort offers a diversified pipeline of businesses tackling some of Africa’s most pressing climate challenges through commercially scalable solutions spanning clean energy, agriculture, circular economy, carbon markets and industrial decarbonisation.
As climate finance increasingly becomes one of the fastest-growing segments of African venture investment, programmes such as the Climate Finance Accelerator are expected to play a pivotal role in preparing the continent’s next generation of green businesses for institutional capital and long-term growth.
