Climate risks pose serious threats to Kenya’s sustainable development goals and development gains, as Kenya’s economy is largely dependent on rainfed agriculture, tourism, and natural resources, sectors which can easily be hit by drastic climate or weather changes.
Between 2008 to 2011, Kenya suffered a major drought that slowed GDP by an average of 2.8 percent and resulted in US$12.1 billion in damages and losses. In 2018, floods displaced more than 300,000 people and the 2020 flooding affected more than 800,000 Kenyans, including 300 deaths and 100,000 people being displaced. The 2019 and 2020 heavy rains also created conditions that led to severe desert locust outbreaks, which further damaged agricultural production, adversely impacted human health, and triggered conflicts between affected communities.
Reduce carbon emissions
Due to these climate risks, the Kenya government and several private sector partners are working on ways to reduce carbon emissions by planting more trees, restoring landscapes, promoting climate-smart agriculture, developing geothermal and clean energy resources, promoting energy efficiency, and encouraging drought and flood risk management.
Private sector partners such as NCBA are also cutting their carbon footprints by increasing the intake of renewable power, funding e-mobility and championing sustainable waste management systems and climate actions for climate resilient livelihoods.
KES 30B of Green & Sustainable Financing
As one of the biggest financial institutions in the country and across the region, NCBA has announced it will mobilize and steer KES 30B of Green and Sustainable Financing to accelerate the transition to green and sustainable environment. The firm will also invest KES 2B in deploying EV charging stations across the region and has set up KES 500 million Solar financing fund for the renewable energy sector.
Kenya imported over 100,000 cars in 2021 alone, majority being second hand cars and a total of over 2 million cars registered locally, according to Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). With its 35 percent market share in vehicle financing, NCBA wants to shift that demand to EV vehicles and reduce emissions on roads in East Africa.
NCBA Group has also launched an asset finance digital platform to allow customers to apply, book and acquire electric vehicles digitally in just 15 seconds. This is expected to increase the uptake of electric vehicles and eventually create new employment opportunities for EV vehicle dealers, auto spares and mechanics and spread to IT, electronics and renewable energy sectors.
Apart from EVs and solar energy, NCBA’s green and sustainable fund will promote sustainable agriculture, waste management and a circular economy to contribute to mitigating or adapting to climate change in East Africa. The green fund will also cover research and capacity building to deal with the impacts of climate change and work with its customers to come up with innovative business models that reduce carbon emissions.
10 million trees by 2030
Internally, NCBA is mobilising its teams and partners to plant 10 million trees by 2030 to nurture a greener world and contribute to a healthier planet through strategic collaborations. NCBA Group is dedicated to eliminating single-use plastics and recycle 100% of its waste by the same year and ensure its supply chain is green and sustainable.
The group aims to allocate KES 100 million annually to actively contribute to community growth in all areas they have operations in through trainings, scholarships and capacity building.
Not just a slogan
Going green is not just a slogan. So far, NCBA has already installed 3 charging Stations in Nairobi and 1 in Kigali, planted over 7 million trees, seen over 34% of waste recycled at HQs and pilot branches and over 76.3% reduction in plastic used in gifting. Its community engagement model has 10 courses on NCBA Academy and has issued over 100+ Scholarships.
20,000 trees in 2023
As part of NCBA’s “Change the Story” campaign, which focuses on environmental conservation and counteracting deforestation, Tessie Musalia and the Ushirika Wema Foundation saw over 20,000 trees donated and planted across various institutions in Bungoma County in 2023. 4,000 trees were planted at Kibabii University with the attendance of H.E. Tessie Musalia and Bungoma Governor H.E. Kenneth Lusaka as part of the NCBA’s World Environment Day activities in Bungoma County 2023.
This year, to mark the World Environment Day 2024, NCBA is set to plant more trees that will hit the 10M mark. NCBA is working with the Kenya Forest Service, NEMA, Ministry of Environment CEC, and WWF Kenya across the country.