Climate adaptation and entrepreneurship in Kenya (Working Paper)

While entrepreneurs provide critical climate adaptation services, their valuable on-the-ground perspectives and underlying motivations to tackle climate issues have been minimally studied, particularly in low- and middle-income country contexts. This working paper addresses this research gap by studying the values and motivations of diverse climate adaptation entrepreneurs in Kenya to identify key opportunities, challenges, and business models in this space. A mixed-methods approach is taken including literature review, quantitative survey, qualitative interview, thematic analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, and comparative analysis with community data. 22 entrepreneurs in the Nairobi Metropolitan area were purposively sampled. We find that entrepreneurs are primarily motivated by gaps or issues they perceive in the market or in the availability of adaptation services; knowledge of existing solutions to fill those gaps; a desire to bring affordable and locally appropriate solutions; and their inner ideals and desires for a climate-friendly future. The core values that motivate these entrepreneurs include innovation, preservation of the natural environment, access to services, and caring for others. Our respondents identified key opportunities to build synergies across value chains such that each player is not simultaneously serving as importer, maintainer, salesperson, and so on of these novel climate technologies. They also saw promise in circular economy approaches within the sector (e.g., in the creation of biofuels from waste). They cited that the most pressing challenges they face in running their businesses were lack of access to appropriate and patient finance, lack of technical capacity in novel innovative sectors, and lack of awareness amongst both consumers and regulators, leading to friction. They described that a consumer-led approach with a subscription-based payment structure was critical.