The Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) supports low-carbon entrepreneurs to get their businesses and projects ready for investment. It then connects them with the investors who can help them grow.
Funded by the UK Government, the CFA provides hands-on technical support and creates structured opportunities for entrepreneurs, developers, financiers, and public partners to work together to unlock climate finance where it is most needed.
Kenya demonstrates significant climate ambition, supported by a vibrant innovation ecosystem, a supportive policy environment, and strong investment flows into climate action. However, the country remains highly exposed to climate risks such as recurrent droughts and floods, which threaten food security and place pressure on public finances. To address this, Kenya’s updated 2035 NDC commits to a 35% greenhouse gas reduction, focusing on transitioning these key economic drivers toward low-carbon, resilient pathways. Innovations are being pursued across key economic sectors – including AFOLU (agriculture, forestry and other land uses), energy, transport, and manufacturing – which are growing rapidly and attracting increasing interest from venture capital, commercial banks, and development finance institutions.
CFA Kenya’s Call for Proposals is now open. We are searching for post-revenue, growth-stage SMEs and established projects with strong mitigation potential, significant investor appeal, and a clear need for capital to scale operations and accelerate commercialisation.
We invite applications from projects ready to scale their impact across our priority sectors, prioritizing transactions in the USD 3M+ range while also considering businesses raising USD 1–2M where there is strong impact potential: clean and distributed energy; sustainable transport and mobility; climate-smart agriculture and agro-processing; green manufacturing and industrial decarbonisation; digital climate solutions, carbon markets and MRV systems; sustainable land use and ecosystem restoration; circular economy and waste management; and blue economy and coastal resilience.
How CFA Kenya can support you
The CFA is a practical, deal-oriented programme designed to support businesses and project proponents working on climate mitigation solutions to strengthen their investment cases, sharpen their capital-raising strategies, and engage lenders and investors with greater confidence and credibility. The programme prioritises opportunities above the USD 3M+ range, but we will also consider businesses raising USD 1-3M where there is strong impact potential.
The CFA offers a range of capacity-building support, practical tools and materials, and curated connections across the finance ecosystem. The CFA does not act as a transaction adviser or broker, nor does it raise capital on behalf of participants. Instead, by engaging with the CFA, businesses and project developers will receive tailored and fully independent advice that will help them align with investor requirements, prepare more compelling investment documentation, navigate policy and regulatory considerations, and build relationships that support outreach to potential financiers. The result is improved investor readiness, a clearer path to profitability and impact visibility, and a stronger foundation for meaningful investor engagement.
Key benefits include:
Curated opportunities to network with investors: The CFA facilitates tailored opportunities for dialogue between selected businesses, project developers, and investors, informed by a clear understanding of investor mandates and risk appetite. Participants are able to connect with commercial and concessional financiers operating nationally, regionally, and internationally, and benefit from structured networking opportunities that enable interaction with relevant investor groups.
Tailored investor-led coaching and best-practice insights: Selected businesses and projects participate in knowledge-sharing sessions and receive tailored support from experienced global and local practitioners on the areas that matter most to financiers: business model robustness, risk mitigation, clarity on the funding ask, and a coherent capital-raising strategy. The CFA supports companies and projects in preparing investment-grade materials, including pitch decks and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Plans, and in strengthening their storytelling and investor-facing communications.
Networking across the climate finance ecosystem: Participants gain opportunities to build relationships not only with investors, but also with other key stakeholders across the market. These include public and institutional partners at national and local levels, corporates, cross-country peers, and other actors within and beyond their domestic markets. These networks help create long-term opportunities that extend beyond the CFA programme itself, and often result in mutually beneficial commercial partnerships.
Increased visibility and credibility: Participation in CFA events can elevate businesses’ and projects’ profiles among a wide range of stakeholders, improving their positioning within the climate-finance ecosystem and strengthening their credibility with potential investors. After completing their acceleration cycle, businesses and projects also benefit from additional exposure through features on the CFA website and highlights across CFA social-media channels.
Stronger ESG and climate-impact narrative: The CFA supports businesses and projects to understand, enhance, and communicate their environmental and social impacts, factors increasingly important to investors alongside commercial returns. Drawing on climate, environmental, and social impact specialists, the CFA helps projects align with national climate ambitions and highlight co-benefits such as poverty reduction; improved gender equality, disability and social inclusion; and the protection of nature and biodiversity, while strengthening awareness of ESG safeguards and risk-management expectations.
Eligibility
The CFA works with businesses and projects that are actively seeking finance and can meet the following criteria:
- Measurable climate impact: Designed to achieve measurable climate outcomes in terms of direct or facilitated greenhouse gas emission reductions.
- Minimum ticket size: Have a minimum total financing need of at least USD1 million, with flexibility where sector dynamics, growth stage, or capital-structure needs justify a smaller raise.
- Stage of development: Project finance deals must have completed a full feasibility study (a technical and financial assessment confirming engineering design, costs, risks, and viability).
- Commercial model: Have a business model capable of generating attractive, risk-adjusted returns over time, although some element of blended or concessional capital may be required in early stages.
- Sectoral focus: Provide a solution within priority sectors: Clean and distributed energy; sustainable transport and mobility; climate-smart agriculture and agro-processing; Green manufacturing and industrial decarbonisation; Digital climate solutions, carbon markets & MRV systems; Sustainable land use, forestry, and ecosystem restoration; Circular economy and waste management and Blue economy and coastal resilience.
- Responsible business conduct: Not engage in activities included in the CFA exclusion list (available as PDF by clicking ‘Apply to Join CFA’)
- Positive environmental and social outcomes: Propositions should either demonstrate positive environmental and social impacts or show a genuine commitment to meaningfully integrating gender equality, disability, and broader social inclusion, recognising that some applicants may still be developing these elements.
How to apply
CFA Kenya is open for applications from climate businesses and projects seeking support in accessing finance until 11th March.
The application and submission requirements can be accessed by clicking ‘Apply to Join CFA’ at the top of this page. Please note that the application process is not designed to select the most developed or complete projects, but rather those aligned with the CFA’s objective of supporting climate projects that advance Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Projects that meet the criteria above are strongly encouraged to apply.
When submitting your proposal, we will require some personal details, such as name, email address, and phone number for the main contact(s). These details will be used solely for communication regarding the proposal. We expect to respond to applications within four weeks of the call for applications deadline and may request additional information during this period.
Your application will be treated as confidential. It will not be reproduced in any form or by any means, disclosed to others or used for any purpose other than for consideration under the CFA.
To find out more about how your organisation can benefit from engaging with the CFA programme, please contact the email provided.
