NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 8 – Spokespersons of the UAE-based Zayed Sustainability Prize have called on more Kenyan startups to join the program to enable them to get climate change award.
M-Kopa and Bbox Kenya stressed the importance of such funding for the growth of early-stage companies.
“This is really about transforming lives and unlocking potential. We have been lucky partners with the Zayed sustainability prize Having won it in 2019,” said Bbox Kenya managing director Justus Mucyo.
He adds that through the fund, the firm has been able to cut close to 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions through investment in solar as well as unlock business opportunities for SMEs in the county.
Bbox has been on an onslaught to replace fossil fuels with clean energy, particularly solar, in Africa.
The Prize seeks to amplify startups in the climate sustainability sector in Africa through rewards and scholarships in schools.
M-kopa director of mobility Dustin Kahler has called on Kenyans to embrace e-mobility as a cheaper option at the height of ever-rising fossil fuel prices, not only in Kenya but globally.
“E-mobility is a step that we must take. Sometimes it’s a hard step. Change takes time but we can see the foundations in the industry really forming,” he said.
M-Kopa says the award has helped innovators operating in the sustainability industry to develop and grow.
It currently has a presence in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa.
He avers that the Zayed Sustainability Prize has enabled the firm to invest in talent through the M-kopa University and allow young Kenyans to grow their expertise in an array of fields.
Zayed uses pitching criteria for its applications, where a start-up is granted an opportunity to apply on their online platform.
