Call for Expressions of Interest from Kenyan Growth Businesses

Scope of Work 

• The scope of this initiative revolves around identifying and curating high-impact investment opportunities in Kenya across various sectors above Eligible organisations, particularly in the growth phase, are invited to submit Expressions of Interest (EOIs) detailing their capital needs and anticipated development impacts. The initiative focuses on assessing potential investment opportunities based on predefined criteria, including business model scalability, market development contribution, financial sustainability, and social impacts.
• The initiative aims to design measures and strategies that ensure women and men can benefit equally from these interventions and planned investments.

Development Challenges and Required Interventions

• The objectives and activities of the Summit are directly linked to the EOI, which serves as a mechanism to identify and prioritise investment opportunities that contribute to sustainable development in Kenya.
• One of the specific challenges that the Summit aims to address is the limited access to appropriate finance and resources for key sectors crucial for sustainable development in Kenya. Data indicates significant disparities in access to financial services and investment opportunities, particularly among marginalised communities, MSMEs, and smallholder farmers. These challenges hinder the achievement of SDGs related to poverty reduction, gender equality, and economic empowerment.
• The development challenge at hand requires strategic interventions to mobilise a greater diversity and quality of capital and resources for impactful investments in key sectors. Market assessments highlight both opportunities and gaps in various sectors, emphasising the need for collaborative efforts to bridge the investment gap and unlock the potential for sustainable development. The EOI is regional in scope, focusing on Kenya as a viable region for impactful investments aligned with the SDGs.
• The thematic scope of the EOI encompasses key areas where interventions are needed to drive sustainable developments including:
  • Food Systems & Agricultural Value Chains (SDG 2, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 15) 
    • Investments aimed at enhancing food security, promoting sustainable agriculture, and reducing food waste, with a focus on supporting smallholder farmers and improving agricultural value chains.
  • Health Sector (SDG 3)
    • Investments in innovative medical technology and digital healthcare solutions to improve access to quality healthcare services, particularly in underserved areas and at primary levels.
  • Environment: Water, Energy and related infrastructure (SDG 6, SDG 7, SDG 11, SDG 13, SDG 14)
    • Investments focused on improving access to clean water and sanitation, promoting renewable energy sources, enhancing energy efficiency, and addressing climate change impacts.
  • Technology & Digitisation (SDG 4, SDG 9, SDG 8, SDG 17)
    • Investments driving innovation, digital inclusion, and sustainable industrialisation, with a focus on leveraging technology to address social and economic challenges.
• The EOI process aims to identify high-impact investment opportunities between USD $2 million to $ 50 million (Prospects in growth phase) that align with national priorities and SDG targets, fostering collaboration and partnerships between European and African stakeholders to accelerate progress towards sustainable development in Kenya.

Areas of Intervention

For this request for applications, they invite applications from registered entities that can offer innovative and scalable solutions addressing one or more of the following challenges through three areas of intervention.

Challenges/ Problem Statement and Objectives for solution

• Food Systems & Agricultural Value Chains (SDG 2, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 15)
  • Challenges: Limited access to affordable essential services, scalability issues, and relevance to low- and middle-income households and SMEs. Stakeholders face obstacles in market development and demonstrating project viability and sustainability.
  • Objectives: Facilitate investments that enhance food security, promote sustainable agriculture, reduce food waste, and preserve biodiversity. Create an enabling environment through the creation of financing mechanisms tailored to support the growth of businesses in the agricultural value chain. Encourage innovative business models with demonstrable social impact, scalability, and financial sustainability.
• Health Sector (SDG 3)
  • Challenges: Limited access to growth stage financing innovative medical technology and digital healthcare solutions. Health tech companies struggle to reach underserved populations effectively
  • Objectives: Invest in health tech growth companies focusing on telemedicine, health data analytics, wearable devices, etc., to improve healthcare access and patient outcomes including at primary care levels. Foster innovation in the health sector and contribute to achieving SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) by leveraging technology for scale. Create an enabling environment through the establishment of financing mechanisms tailored to support the growth of health tech companies and facilitate access to innovative medical solutions for underserved populations.
• Environment: Water, Energy and Infrastructure (SDG 6, SDG 7, SDG 11, SDG 13, SDG 14)
  • Challenges: Insufficient access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate renewable energy sources, and climate change impacts. Stakeholders face difficulties in promoting energy efficiency and addressing environmental conservation.
  • Objectives: Support initiatives improving access to clean water and sanitation, promoting renewable energy, enhancing energy efficiency, and addressing climate change impacts. Invest in water treatment, renewable energy infrastructure, and conservation efforts to contribute to SDGs 6, 7, 11, 13, and 14. Create an enabling environment through the establishment of financing mechanisms tailored to support environmental and energy projects, fostering innovation, and promoting sustainability.
• Technology & Digitisation (SDG 4, SDG 9, SDG 8, SDG 17)
  • Challenges: Limited innovation, inadequate access to education and healthcare through technology, and insufficient sustainable industrialisation. Stakeholders encounter difficulties in leveraging data analytics for social impact and global partnerships for sustainable development.
  • Objectives: Drive innovation, improve access to education and healthcare through technology, promote sustainable industrialisation, and facilitate global partnerships for sustainable development. Invest in digital education platforms, healthcare technology startups, clean technology companies, and initiatives leveraging data analytics for social impact. Create an enabling environment through the establishment of financing mechanisms tailored to support technology and digitisation projects, fostering innovation, and promoting sustainable development.

Expected Outcomes

• Identification of High-Impact Investment Opportunities- Curate a comprehensive list of SDG-aligned investment opportunities in Kenya across various sectors described.
• Facilitate Investor-Entrepreneur Connections: Directly connect eligible applicants with potential investors interested in SDG-aligned projects in Kenya, fostering new investments.
• Promote Economic Empowerment: Support growth stage businesses with financially sustainable business models, contributing to market development and fostering innovation.
• Enhance Social Impact- Drive economic growth, social development, and environmental sustainability in Kenya by leveraging investments aligned with SDGs.
• Gender Inclusivity and Equity- Ensure equal opportunities for women and men to participate in and benefit from investment opportunities, promoting gender equality and social inclusion.

The initiative will analyse risks from a gender-inclusive perspective to understand their differential impacts on women and men. Risk management strategies will be implemented to mitigate potential negative effects on marginalised groups and promote gender equality in project outcomes.

The initiative aims to showcase Kenya as a viable destination for impactful investments from Europe and beyond, driving economic growth and social development while advancing gender equality and sustainability.

Entity Registration

Entities must be duly registered legal entities, with a minimum of one year of operations in Kenya or East Africa. Types of eligible entities include:

• Growth Phase Enterprises in the sectors of Food Systems (including Agriculture value chains), Health, Environment (including Water, Energy and relevant infrastructure), and Technology (including digitization).
• Entities can be for-profit private, or public-private partnership organisations.
• This is a National call for Kenya.
• Entity shall have fulfilled all the obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with legal provisions.
• Business registration certificate, operating licenses, Official national fiscal authority certificate (TCC, Social Compliance certificates ie NSSF, NHIF) are required.

For more information, visit SDG Partnership Platform.