Kenya Climate Ventures

What Kenya Climate Ventures does

Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV) is a Nairobi-based climate impact investment company founded in 2016 with seed capital from Danida and UK Aid (FCDO), and operating as a subsidiary of the Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC). The firm provides tailored, patient, and affordable capital combined with business growth support to early-stage and growth-stage climate-smart enterprises in Kenya, deploying debt, convertible debt, and equity instruments in ticket sizes ranging from $50,000 to $1 million. KCV invests across five sectors — Agribusiness, Renewable Energy, Waste and Circularity, Commercial Forestry, and Water — targeting SMEs whose climate solutions are capital intensive, carry long payback periods, or involve first-mover risks that commercial capital typically avoids. Its portfolio includes Mace Foods, Sistema.bio, Acacia Innovations, Sunken Ltd, Kings Biofuels, Ofgen, Taimba, Kilifi Moringa Estates, Hornafrik Gums, Rafode, and others, with a stated focus on gender-inclusive and humanitarian-market enterprises.

KCV does not develop proprietary technology products; its core technology is its investment process, technical assistance capability, and pipeline origination network. As of August 2020 it had deployed approximately $2.67 million across six enterprises, and the portfolio has since grown to 14+ companies across rural, peri-urban, and humanitarian markets in Kenya, with stated ambitions to scale regionally across East Africa. KCV operates with 1–10 employees, a board chaired by Eric Kimani, MBS, CEO Victor Ndiege, and CIO Paul Ohaga. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; economics flow from development-finance grant/seed capital, fund management economics, and investment returns from portfolio companies, supplemented by co-financing partners such as KKCF and partnerships with organizations including UNIDO, Biovision Foundation, South Pole, and Offgrid.

Name

Kenya Climate Ventures

Legal name

Kenya Climate Ventures Limited

Website

http://kcv.co.ke/?

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kenya Climate Ventures is a Nairobi-based climate impact investment company, founded in 2016 with Danida and UK Aid seed capital, that provides patient debt, convertible, and equity capital plus technical assistance to early- and growth-stage climate-smart SMEs across Kenya in agribusiness, renewable energy, waste, forestry, and water.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Impact Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate / Clean Tech & Decarbonization Funds (FSANAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Finance Funds & Green Investment Facilities (BPADACAH), Energy & Sustainability / Climate Growth Equity (FSANACAG), Climate Finance Strategy (CapEx planning, green finance, incentives & grants) (EUABAKAG)

Keywords

• Climate impact investing
• Venture capital services
• Renewable energy financing
• Agribusiness investment
• Development finance

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Impact Investment Returns: KCV generates returns through investments in climate-smart enterprises, providing debt facilities, convertible debt, and equity investments to early and growth stage companies. Returns come from interest payments, equity appreciation, and successful exits from portfolio companies.
2. Investment Management Fees: As an impact investment management company, KCV likely earns management fees on deployed capital and performance fees on returns, typical for development finance institutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kenya Climate Ventures is a climate impact investment company that provides tailored, patient, and affordable capital (debt, convertible debt, and equity ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000) combined with business development support and technical assistance to early-stage and growth-stage climate-smart enterprises in Kenya. Investments are deployed across five strategic sectors: agribusiness, renewable energy, waste and circularity, commercial forestry, and water.

Product overview

Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV) is a climate impact investment company offering a suite of financing and support products to de-risk climate-smart enterprises. The core offering consists of tailored investment capital (debt, convertible debt, and equity instruments ranging from $50,000 to $1 million) combined with technical assistance and business development support. KCV operates across five strategic investment sectors: Agribusiness, Renewable Energy, Waste and Circularity, Commercial Forestry, and Water. Their portfolio includes investee companies such as Taimba (B2B e-commerce platform for agricultural supply chains), Kings Biofuels (briquette production from agricultural waste), Acacia Innovations (Kuni Safi eco-friendly briquettes from sugarcane waste), Mace Foods (dehydrated spices and chillies processing), Sistema.bio (biogas digesters), and others. KCV focuses on early-stage and growth-stage enterprises that are gender-inclusive and contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 jobs created and sustained through funded enterprises
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKCV is a subsidiary of KCIC, which provides institutional support, shared resources, and alignment with Kenya's broader climate innovation ecosystem.
• ASPENminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASPEN is listed as a KCV partner, indicating collaboration in climate impact investing or shared programs.
• CollaborativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a KCV partner organization.
• Finding-XYminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a KCV partner.
• KIFFWAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a KCV partner organization.
• OffgridminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClean energy access organization listed as KCV partner.
• South PoleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate solutions provider listed as KCV partner.
• SRCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a KCV partner.
• UNIDOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization listed as KCV partner for climate-smart industrial development.
• WUSCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld University Service of Canada listed as KCV partner.
• MB (Mastercard Foundation/British American Tobacco - unclear)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a KCV partner (specific organization unclear from sources).
• Biovision FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorks with KCV portfolio company Dashcrop to advance sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient food systems in Kenya.

Scale indicators23 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Novastar Ventures: Novastar is an East Africa-focused impact venture builder and investor backing climate-smart and inclusive businesses, making it one of the closest direct comparables to KCV's regional, early-stage climate investment model.
• GroFin: GroFin is a fund manager providing growth capital and business support to SMEs across Africa in sectors including clean energy and agribusiness, mirroring KCV's patient-capital-plus-technical-assistance model.
• SunFunder: SunFunder is a solar-focused debt financier providing capital to off-grid energy distributors across Africa, directly comparable to KCV's renewable energy investments in Ofgen, Sistema.bio, Sunken and Vuma Biofuels.
• Acumen: Acumen is a global impact investment fund that deploys patient capital to early-stage enterprises serving low-income populations in East Africa and other emerging markets, closely mirroring KCV's thesis of combining concessional capital with technical assistance.
• EcoEnterprises Partners: EcoEnterprises is a climate impact fund manager investing in sustainable SMEs in Latin America and Africa, sharing KCV's thesis of providing growth capital and technical assistance to early- and growth-stage climate businesses.
• Adenia Partners: Adenia Partners is a private equity firm investing in African mid-market businesses with a focus on sustainability and inclusive growth, sharing KCV's focus on East Africa and climate-aligned SMEs.
• Persistent Energy: Persistent Energy finances and incubates clean energy startups in Africa, directly overlapping with KCV's renewable energy and waste-to-energy investments in companies like Kings Biofuels and Acacia Innovations.

Broad incumbents

• Triodos Investment Management: Triodos IM manages sustainable and impact investment funds globally including renewable energy and climate finance, comparable to KCV as a broader sustainable investment manager operating in emerging markets.
• Climate Fund Managers: Climate Fund Managers is a larger, established DFI-backed climate-focused PE firm operating globally; broader scale and AUM, but overlaps in deploying blended climate finance to emerging markets.

Regional players

• Open Capital Advisors: Open Capital is an Africa-focused advisory and investment firm supporting growth-stage businesses across East Africa, complementary to KCV's deal-sourcing and capital-deployment activities in the region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KCV_Kenya
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kenyaclimateventures683
• Facebookfacebook.com/KenyaClimateVentures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kenya-climate-ventures/?originalSubdomain=ke
• Instagraminstagram.com/kenya.climate.ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kenya Climate Ventures