The KBA Centre for Sustainable Finance and Enterprise Development (CSFED) is an impact-led hub within Kenya that activates action to transform the banking industry to be a force for building value for people, nature, climate and the economy. Through its vast networks of partners, thought leaders and sustainable finance innovators across the banking industry, the Centre is catalyzing change for a sustainable future.
Objectives of the CSFED
The financial services sector remains a critical cog for driving inclusive economic growth. The quality of decisions financiers make on a daily basis has a direct and indirect impact on the economy, society and the environment. The CSFED seeks to entrench the tenets of the industry-widely adopted Sustainable Finance Guiding Principles while also championing advocacy efforts in order to achieve the following:
- A banking industry that facilitates true financial viability by directing financial flows towards sustainable economic development that safeguards the planet and promotes social well-being.
- Promote financial inclusion in Kenya for underserved communities and enhance Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) ability to access bank finance through facilitating financial literacy training and partnering with banks to foster community empowerment and consumer awareness of financial services.
- Enhance the banking industry’s ability to manage and mitigate risks associated with their lending activities and investments.
- Build the capacity of the industry to embrace ESG reporting to enhance transparency.
Key Pillars of the Centre
The CSFED team are pioneering collaborative solutions that advance positive change within the banking industry in Kenya. It is doing this through the following activities:
- Financial Inclusion: The Centre currently hosts the Inuka Enterprise Program. It will further support financial literacy capacity building efforts by KBA by delivering world-class training to MSMEs in order to enhance their capacity to access bank finance. It is also targeting underserved segments, including, women, youth and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) with specialized business trainings to ensure they operate optimally. Under the Centre, the Inuka SME Accelerator Program has been rolled out with the objective of tailoring interventions to MSMEs to scale their enterprises for their posterity.
- Technical Assistance: The Centre is providing cutting-edge interventions to bridge the gap between theory and practice through tailored training programs and workshops. Currently the Centre hosts the Sustainable Finance e-learning platform that empowers financiers to look beyond their financial returns and factor in environmental, social and economic concerns. It provides one-on-one support to member banks who request additional assistance to bolster their sustainable finance practices.
- Knowledge Hub: The Centre generates and is a repository of knowledge as a result of evidence-based research on sustainable finance.
- Advisory Services: Through the Centre, a pool of experts are available to support the industry with specialized advisory including, but not limited to, climate and nature transition plans, portfolio reviews, identification of financing opportunity for nature or green projects and other emerging industry compliance regulatory issues such as the Kenya Green Finance Taxonomy and the Climate Risk Disclosure Framework
- Thought Leadership: The Centre currently provides thought leadership and drives conversations on sustainable finance. This is being done through conferences, podcasts and webinars headlined by sustainable finance experts drawn from across the world.
- Partnership for Impact: The Centre plays a convening role which will lead to partnerships with key players that have a shared vision in driving sustainable finance practices.
- Promotion of Innovative Instruments: The Centre is reigniting efforts towards championing the development of a green bonds market in the country and is exploring supporting banks to develop other innovative instruments which may include green, social, sustainability or sustainability-linked loan products. The program will expand to support thematic bonds issuances which include Sustainability, Social, and Sustainability-Linked Bonds.
- Advocacy: The Centre is serving as a central platform to advocate for policies that create an enabling environment for sustainable finance practices within Kenya.