Kenya Secures Over KSh2 Billion for Clean Energy in Schools at COP31

At a high-level side event of the 31st UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Turkey, Kenya announced a financing package of more than KSh2 billion to support clean-energy upgrades in 600 schools and 60 technical and vocational education and training colleges.

The announcement was delivered by Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Dr Deborah Barasa, Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Dr Eng. Festus Ng’eno, Kenya Commercial Bank Managing Director Annastasia Kimtai and KCB Group Board Director William Asiko.

KCB’s contribution builds on a clean-energy financing pilot that began in 2022 and has already helped participating institutions lower electricity costs, reduce dependence on biomass fuels and improve reliability of power for cooking, teaching and administration.

Barasa said the government’s goal is universal access to clean cooking by 2028 and outlined an expansion to 10,000 secondary schools, 250 TVET institutions and 42 universities, a scale that would require an estimated USD 460 million in financing.

“the Government’s policy direction and the scale of the proposed transition is a priority,” Barasa stated, adding that the plan offers an opportunity to reach the targeted institutions.

Delegates, including development finance institutions and private investors, explored the use of concessional finance, risk-sharing mechanisms and technical assistance to make the larger rollout attractive to private capital.

The side-event highlighted that moving beyond the pilot will depend on securing affordable, long-term financing and forging broader partnerships to deliver clean energy across Kenya’s education sector.