Kenya's path to global impact using innovation

Starehe Girls' Centre Director, Sister Jane Soita (right), businessman Manu Chandaria and students, after the institution was declared the Global High Schools (Africa) winner in the Ninth Annual Zayed Future Energy Prize, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on February 15 2017. [File, Standard]

Kenya has been a beacon of innovation and leadership in sustainability. With a dynamic economy, visionary leadership, and a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, Kenya has emerged as a continental and global model for how bold ideas can drive meaningful progress.

The Zayed Sustainability Prize, the UAE’s pioneering global award for humanitarian and sustainable development, has witnessed firsthand the extraordinary talent Kenya brings to the world stage. Over the years, Kenyan winners and organisations making a difference locally have shown that when homegrown solutions are nurtured and recognised, they can spark regional transformation and inspire global change, encouraging communities everywhere to reimagine what is possible.

In 2015, M-Kopa, a Kenyan organisation, received the Zayed Sustainability Prize for its innovative approach to affordable, off-grid solar solutions. At the time, it had connected over 100,000 homes to clean energy. Today, M-Kopa has evolved into a major digital platform, offering financial services, clean mobility, and access to electricity for more than five million customers across Africa. 

Another winner from Kenya is Starehe Girls’ Centre and School. They won the Prize in 2017 in the Global High Schools category – a category that empowers youth to lead sustainability efforts that create lasting impact – for a project that implements renewable energy and energy efficiency measures to generate monetary savings that the school subsequently utilises towards scholarships for ten additional disadvantaged girls each year.  

Through the work of prize-winning organisations, Kenya’s sustainability landscape continues to thrive. For example, Sanku, a Tanzanian nonprofit that won the Prize in 2019 for its pioneering work in addressing malnutrition, has partnered with maize flour mills across Kenya, enabling addition of essential nutrients such as iron and zinc to flour.

Sanku’s interventions in Kenya have led to a substantial decrease in anemia rates among women and children, with one study showing that children consuming flour fortified through Sanku’s technology experienced a 50 per cent reduction in anemia rates.

Another Prize-winning organisation that has had a critical impact in Kenya is Rwanda–based Bboxx. The SME has provided clean energy and smartphone access to over 300,000 Kenyans, many of whom received such services for the first time. The company’s solar home systems (SHS) have reached both rural and urban households, and businesses.

Finally, d.light, a 2013 Prize winner, has also played a significant role in Kenya’s push for universal electricity access, particularly in rural and underserved regions. As a key participant in the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP), d.light is providing solar power and clean cooking solutions to over 150,000 people across Kenya. Through its affordable PayGo installment service, d.light enables low-income households to access solar home systems and clean cookstoves.

The leadership of the Zayed Sustainability Prize travelled to Kenya recently to strengthen partnerships with ministries, organisations and changemakers. The visit was grounded in a shared belief that Kenya will continue to shape the future of sustainability across Africa and the world, and sought to encourage entrepreneurs, innovators, and high schools across Kenya to apply for the prize before June 23, 2025 and join a global network of pioneers shaping a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future.

-The writer is a global strategic communication expert