Mission Efficiency Marketplace mobilizing finance for energy efficiency and sustainable cooling projects in Kenya

In Kenya, significant investment is still needed to translate the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy into tangible action. As part of the Mission Efficiency coalition, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and partners are working to mobilize finance from various sources – public, private, philanthropic, bilateral, and multilateral institutions – for energy efficiency in Kenya.  

This is being done through the Mission Efficiency Marketplace approach, which involves a Marketplace Taskforce collaborating with local energy efficiency partners to:

• Identify investment-worthy energy efficiency projects by assessing their viability, energy, and climate impact in alignment with country priorities.
• De-risk efficiency projects through various instruments and strategies (including insurance, blended finance, carbon credits, guarantees, and aggregation of projects) and provide transaction enablers (examples include standardized contracts and technical assistance).
• Match energy efficiency projects with interested investors.

On 29 February, Mission Efficiency, in collaboration with the Kenya Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry, and the National Ozone Unit, co-hosted the second Kenya Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Cooling Marketplace Workshop.

Building on discussions from the first workshop in November 2023, the latest convening focused on surfacing the main technical and financial challenges hindering energy efficiency and sustainable cooling initiatives in Kenya, and how Energy Service Companies (ESCO) and the Energy Efficiency Fund can help de-risk investments.

A key outcome of the event was that attendees agreed on the need to launch a de-risking facility, with representatives from the banking sector expressing their interest and willingness to collaborate with the sector to support bankable energy projects. 

Speaking during the session, Steven Kukoda, Vice President and Executive Director at the International Copper Association, said, “The de-risking facility plays a crucial role in the Mission Efficiency Marketplace by consolidating various initiatives that can stimulate private development finance and investment, such as mobilizing climate finance to reduce carbon emissions in economies.”

David Mutisya, Senior Deputy Director of Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy in Kenya, said, “This workshop was a pivotal gathering aimed at uniting stakeholders from various sectors, including government departments, financial institutions, the private sector, agriculture, cooling development partners, civil society organizations, regulators, institutions of higher learning, and country governments.” He further encouraged the Mission Efficiency ecosystem to collaborate on achieving the doubling energy efficiency rate adopted at COP28.

"The Embassy of Denmark in Kenya supports energy efficiency in partnership with the Government of Kenya and other energy stakeholders," said Lasse Loft Christensen, Energy Counsellor at the Embassy of Denmark. “We invite more collaboration as technical assistance is needed, especially as energy efficiency needs to be enhanced in the next update of Nationally Determined Contributions,” added Lasse.

The Mission Efficiency Marketplace approach has also been applied in Ghana and is proving effective. For example, the marketplace facilitated a connection between e-mobility company Solar Taxi with Sunref, a green finance programme offered by the Agence Française de Développement, which resulted in Solar Taxi securing its first major project financing from Sunref. Solar Taxi now operates over 1,000 electric bikes and is expanding into e-buses, contributing to sustainable mobility solutions in Ghana. The Mission Efficiency Marketplace will continue to create access to and improve linkages between projects and financing in support of Ghana’s energy transition.

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