Rome, 7 October 2020 – On 7 October UNIDO ITPO Italy hosted and moderated its webinar “Doing Green Business in Kenya”, a country presentation aimed at discussing investment opportunities in the renewable energies and green technologies sectors of Kenya and facilitating potential partnerships between Italian and Kenyan small and medium enterprises in the field.

The virtual conference was started by the welcome speech of UNIDO ITPO Italy Head, Ms. Diana Battaggia, emphasizing how “creative solutions are necessary to continue to fulfil our mandate, enhancing competitiveness of SMEs in developing countries through capacity building, mobilization of investment and transfer of technologies” and notably included the participation of H.E. Alberto Pieri, Ambassador at the Embassy of Italy in Nairobi, and H.E. Jackline Yonga, Ambassador at the Embassy of Kenya in Rome.

“This initiative promoted by UNIDO ITPO Italy is timely and important to promote best practices that can facilitate fruitful and win-win partnerships between Italy and Kenya. Green business is a key enabler for sustainable development, job creation, income growth and environmental needs, and in this regard Kenya is already a pioneer country in Africa”, commented H.E. Ambassador Pieri in his opening remarks.

The first session of the multi-panel discussion featured interventions by institutional Kenyan stakeholders: Mr. Mungai Kihara, Renewable Energy Engineer at the Ministry of Energy of Kenya, exploring the potential of renewable energies within the national power matrix, and Dr. Pacifica Ogola, Secretary of the Climate Change Directorate at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Kenya, who illustrated the policy framework in Kenya for climate change and environmental issues. The second session was dedicated to the private sector in Kenya: Ms. Phyllis Wakiaga, CEO of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, illustrated perspectives on renewable energies in the country; Ms. Catherine Gachenge, Project Analyst at Kenya Investment Authority, highlighting investment opportunities in Kenya; and Prof. Izael Pereira Da Silva, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Strathmore University, who offered his academic viewpoint on innovation in the local renewable energies and clean technologies sectors.

“Kenya is moving towards increased investment in sustainable agriculture and green resilient infrastructure for transport, water and waste management. To promote the scale-up of environmentally-sound and innovative technologies, the regulatory and political framework for trade and investment needs to be reshaped, and I believe UNIDO can come in and fill the gap for us””, concluded H.E. Ambassador Yonga during her closing remarks.

Attended by more than 40 participants, “Doing Green Business in Kenya” was the third episode of the webinar series organized by UNIDO ITPO Italy in the framework of the project “Fostering international partnerships between companies and/or institutions operating in the energy and environment sectors” funded by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea.