Call for Applications: GreenBiz Programme (Kenya)

Deadline: 15 April 2024

Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC) in partnership with the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), is implementing the GreenBiz Programme, running from 2021 to 2025.

The programme is supporting 300 climate technologies and related innovative business models to create over 3000 full time job opportunities. The expected outcomes include increased commercialisation and scale up of climate related companies, which create decent jobs, increased access to low carbon energy sources, increased community and household resilience to climate change as well as other environmental and social benefits.

KCIC is engaged in five thematic areas: water; renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE & EE); agriculture; commercial forestry and waste management. By focusing on these sectors, KCIC (and its clients) will directly and indirectly contribute to the achievement of SDG 1 (no poverty); SDG 2 (no hunger); SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), and SDG 13 (climate action). Others are SDG 15 (life on land); SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production).

This is a call for applications to all eligible businesses to join the GreenBiz Incubator or Accelerator programme for tailored support including business advisory, mentorship, technical assistance, capacity building, and financing. The GreenBiz Programme will address key challenges that hinder climate technologies and related innovative business models from tapping into the immense potential in the cleantech sector.

This call for applications will onboard 60 climate technologies and enterprises that fall under KCIC’s five thematic areas of renewable energies and energy efficiency, water, agribusiness, commercial forestry and waste management. Post on-boarding to the programme, a needs assessment exercise will be conducted to ascertain the specific needs of the successful applicants. Based on these needs, successful applicants will receive technical and financial support based on assessment done to support their growth.

KCIC Programs

Applicants can apply to join either the incubation or the acceleration Programme:

GreenBiz Incubation Programme
- This is a 12-month programme targeting start-ups and early-stage businesses that have at least developed a prototype. The businesses receive intensive practical training and business coaching to enable them prove their concepts in the market and progress towards commercialization. Clients who successfully complete this program can apply for the KCIC GreenBiz Accelerator Programme.
- Incubation programme eligibility metrics
  - A limited company / Sole proprietorship
  - Business is within KCIC’s five thematic areas
  - Have an innovative product, service or business model.
  - Be in the early stages of business development.
  - Demonstrate a climate change angle: the business must contribute to mitigation or adaptation to climate change, and/or have a positive impact on the natural environment, including biodiversity. This should contribute to social, economic and environmental resilience to climate related disruption and disaster
GreenBiz Accelerator Programme
- This is a 12-month programme in which clients are provided with highly individualized services aimed at:
  - Setting the clients on a rapid business growth path
  - Preparing clients to be investor ready as well as raising investments.
- GreenBiz Acceleration programme eligibility metrics
  - A limited company incorporated and operating in Kenya
  - The company is within KCIC’s five thematic areas
  - Have an Innovative product, service or business model
  - A proven business model and a well-defined financial model
  - Post-revenue stage
  - Looking to raise capital
  - Team of 2+ full time employees
- Demonstrate a climate angle: the business must contribute to mitigation or adaptation to climate change, and/or have a positive impact on the natural environment, including biodiversity. This should contribute to social, economic and environmental resilience to climate related disruption and disaster

Financial Support

Kenya Climate Innovation Center will support successful applicants with various types of financial support once they meet the financing criteria for the GreenBiz programme.
Direct financial support will be based on the assessment of actual needs on a case-by-case basis and after three months of being onboarded into the programme.
Kenya Climate Innovation Center will support successful applicants with various types of financial support once they meet the financing criteria for the GreenBiz programme.
Direct financial support will be based on the assessment of actual needs on a case-by-case basis and after three months of being onboarded into the programme.
External Financing
KCIC will also provide transaction advisory services to entrepreneurs to be able to access third party financing such as debts, grants and equity investments
Technical Support
- The following describes the kind of technical support that can be provided by KCIC to successful applicants under the GreenBiz Programme. Support is based on assessment of actual needs on a case-by-case basis.

Technical Support

The following describes the kind of technical support that can be provided by KCIC to successful applicants under the GreenBiz Programme. Support is based on assessment of actual needs on a case-by-case basis.

Business Advisory
- Successful applicants will be equipped with technical knowledge, tools and skills that will enable them to identify and develop their business. Based on a gap analysis, it will entail the following support:
  - Entrepreneurship trainings
  - Technical training and value addition
  - Business modelling to start and run the business including record keeping, statutory requirements and compliance
Mentorship and Coaching
- Successful applicants will be mentored by experienced sector specific mentors, business experts, technical experts and certified business mentors to develop specific skills and knowledge that will enhance their business and personal growth. The specific activities include:
  - Counselling and guidance by successful businesspersons, peers, and professionals.
  - Sharing of experiences in business forums and associations.
  - Teaming and virtual training.
Access to Information
- Successful applicants will benefit from information sharing and establishing partnerships with Ecosystem players, companies and other stakeholders for effective market access through collaborative agreements. The specific activities include:
  - Create online platforms for information sharing and networking
  - Providing information on business development within the thematic areas, including policy and regulatory changes.
  - Ensure participation or hosting of entrepreneurs to local and international start-up conferences
Enabling Environment
- Successful applicants will benefit from access to services that will enable them to improve the current market they are operating in, increase number of customers, have access to various sector specific events that directly affect their business through;
  - Invitations to Policy dialogues that directly affect the business or the sector in general
  - Access to exhibition and expos whereby they can be able to actively showcase their products
  - Networking forums for the entrepreneurs to create partnerships that will foster growth of the company.
Access to Facilities
- Successful applicants will benefit from access to various business specific resources that will enable them to improve the quality of product and the quality of service they offer and have a central location they can be able to use as their offices; this will be through;
  - Access to office facilities; co-working spaces to facilitate business meetings and improve company relation with potential business partners and also meet potential clients
  - Access to testing and prototyping facilities that will enable the business to improve and develop the current products for better market experience for the entrepreneur.

Eligibility Criteria

Business Compliance
- The applicant should be registered under the laws of Kenya.
  - Limited Liability company
  - Sole Proprietorship but willing to register the business as limited company within the first 3 months once a business is selected
Location: The business must be located and legally registered in Kenya.
Scope: The company should be within the below mentioned thematic areas:
- Agribusiness:
  - Businesses focusing in any of the following areas will be considered but are not limited to;
    - Promoting heat and drought resistant crops
    - Sustainable climate-resilient farming methods
    - Energy efficient agricultural machinery and carbon neutral system
- Water Management:
  - KCIC is focusing on businesses that are developing sustainable and innovative water management interventions associated with, but are not limited to:
    - Solar filtration
    - Desalination
    - Promoting water conservation in areas subject to increased water stress due to climate change
- Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency:
  - KCIC is looking to support innovative businesses that innovatively offers climate change mitigation or adaptation solutions through any or all of the following, but are not limited to:
    - Off-grid technologies – solar PV, biogas, biomass and wind
    - Micro-hydro – domestic and rural mini-grid use
    - Bio-energy – bio-gasification, bio-diesel, biomass power and heating
- Waste Management:
  - KCIC is interested to incubate innovative businesses falling within any of the following areas, but are not limited to:
    - Efficient waste aggregation and recycling
    - Reduction of waste toxicity
    - Upcycling waste materials
- Commercial Forestry:
  - KCIC is looking to incubate innovative businesses across all commercial forestry value chains demonstrating sustainable practices to build resilient forests leading to increased forest cove. This will focus on but not limited to:
    - Planting Trees for commercial purposes on at least 3 acres of land
    - Use of technologies to grow and monitor forest coverage that reduce deforestation and degradation
    - Innovative best practices in agroforestry that enhance agricultural landscape resiliency, facilitate species movement to more favourable conditions, sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Mainstreaming of climate change considerations in businesses and services within the five areas/sectors:
  - The key purpose of the GreenBiz programme is to support businesses who provide climate-smart solution through their products and services within the five sectors. However, businesses might also be considered as climate-smart businesses based on the mainstreaming principles below:
    - On mitigation: Businesses – within the five areas/sectors – that contribute to a mitigating effect on climate change by greening their practices and reducing GHG emission from their production/operation or include climate change concepts in their strategies or guide their investments.
    - On adaptation: Businesses – within the five areas/sectors – that contribute to climate change adaptation, e.g., by diversifying income opportunities for communities that cannot continue their traditional way of life as a result of climate change but also by supporting the development, distribution or adoption of new technologies to better deal with climate change.