Nairobi to host Africa climate adaptation summit

Africa requires USD100 billion a year by 2035 to fulfil its climate adaptation commitments, and at present, private capital is covering only a tenth of that amount.

That is what the Adaptation Investment Summit for Africa 2026 (AISA 2026) is all about, which is scheduled to take place in Nairobi on July 6-7, 2026.

Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV) is hosting the summit in partnership with UNIDO, Collaborative for Frontier Finance, Impact Investing Kenya and Care Denmark under the theme “Accelerating Climate Adaptation and Innovation for a Resilient Africa.”

The event unites investors, development partners, enterprises and ecosystem actors working on climate resilience across the continent.

KCV, Kenya’s only climate-focused fund manager licensed by the Capital Markets Authority, has in the past decade supported early and growth-stage enterprises in sectors where climate adaptation and gender inclusion intersect.

These sectors include agribusiness, water, renewable energy, forestry and waste management, with KCV making 23 such investments of about USD4 million since 2016.

“The Summit is a celebration of Kenya Climate Ventures’ 10 years of climate impact investing and a platform to reflect on lessons learned while shaping the next decade of adaptation investment, venture building, market development and collaboration,” said KCV CEO Victor Ndiege.

Capital access key for Kenya’s water security

Ndiege noted that small and medium enterprises are pivotal to Africa’s adaptation story and are often best placed to deliver climate solutions suited to local conditions.

“SMEs are central to Agenda 2063, especially in promoting innovation, creativity and decent work for all,” he said.

But commercialising that potential is a challenge due to limited access to finance, weak capacity to scale, and an ecosystem that is still working through the structural and policy barriers that prevent adaptation SMEs from growing and competing in the market.