Countdown To GreenShift brings the business realities of Kenya’s green transition into focus
Sustainability is increasingly becoming a business conversation, touching everything from access to capital and compliance to technology, mobility and the way companies manage their operations. That was the focus in Nairobi as Countdown To GreenShift brought together voices from business, technology, sustainability, academia and startups ahead of the GreenShift Forum 2026 on October 22.
Hosted by TechTrends Media at WOJO Nairobi, the preview event explored some of the issues expected to feature more prominently at the main forum, including green financing, ESG, renewable energy, e-mobility and the circular economy.
The discussions were less about sustainability as an abstract ambition and more about how organisations can turn environmental and social priorities into practical business decisions.
ESG is becoming part of the business equation
For Nixon Kanali, organising lead at TechTrends Media, the GreenShift conversation has developed around the need to connect sustainability with the decisions businesses and institutions are already making.
The wider GreenShift platform has been building this conversation through editorial coverage, podcasts, magazines and events. The October forum will bring those discussions together around issues including green finance, e-mobility, circular economy and public-private partnerships.
That business focus was also evident in the contribution from Stephanie Oji, Co-founder and Technical Lead at Ardena Consulting.
Oji linked ESG to investor confidence and access to capital, while highlighting the technical and regulatory considerations businesses have to navigate when dealing with sustainability reporting, carbon markets and green financing.
For businesses, the question is therefore becoming more practical: how do sustainability commitments translate into credible reporting, investment decisions and measurable impact?
Green financing needs more than a sustainability label
Access to financing was one of the recurring issues during the preview, particularly as organisations look for ways to fund projects that deliver environmental and social benefits.
Oji noted that green financing has to demonstrate positive impact while also addressing environmental and social risks. That creates a need for businesses to understand both the opportunities and the requirements attached to sustainability-linked capital.
Ardena Consulting is also working on an automated ESG platform designed to support businesses with sustainability reporting, compliance and access to capital. The platform is expected to be launched at the October 22 forum.
The emphasis reflects a broader challenge for companies: sustainability increasingly requires systems and processes capable of producing information that investors and other stakeholders can assess.
Carbon markets raise questions about quality
Carbon markets were another area where the discussion moved beyond broad sustainability ambitions.
Oji highlighted the importance of understanding the origin and quality of carbon credits, noting differences between land- and forest-based credits and technology-based carbon removal approaches such as direct air capture.
Kenya’s regulatory environment also adds another layer to the conversation, particularly for organisations trying to understand how carbon projects should be structured and what processes they need to follow.
The discussion points to a market where the value of a carbon credit increasingly depends on the credibility of what sits behind it, rather than simply the existence of a sustainability claim.
E-mobility is changing the economics of transport
E-mobility brought a more immediate commercial dimension to the conversation, with Marion Ngina Karanja, Senior PR Manager at Bolt Kenya, discussing the company’s work around electric mobility.
Bolt has been working with financing providers, original equipment manufacturers and other operational partners as it looks to support the transition to electric vehicles, particularly motorcycles.
One of the challenges is the upfront cost. Karanja noted that acquiring a petrol motorcycle can cost almost twice as much as investing in an electric bike, a difference that can influence the economics for riders considering the transition.
For mobility companies, the environmental case for electric vehicles therefore sits alongside questions around financing, acquisition costs, operating economics and the availability of supporting infrastructure.
Sustainability also reaches products and everyday operations
The conversation extended beyond energy and transport into the design and use of everyday technology.
Nyawira Muraguri, Corporate Marketing Manager and Communications Lead at Samsung Electronics East Africa, highlighted efforts around packaging and energy efficiency across the company’s products.
Samsung has reduced the dimensions of some phone packaging while incorporating recycled plastics and paper in product packaging, as well as recycled materials in components such as the S Pen casing.
The company is also using SmartThings to give users greater visibility and control over energy consumption. In Kenya, the platform can incorporate local electricity tariff information and translate estimated energy savings into Kenyan shilling values using KPLC rates.
That makes energy efficiency easier to connect to an everyday financial consideration: how much electricity a household or business is actually paying for.
The green economy conversation is attracting a wider audience
The audience at Countdown To GreenShift reflected the breadth of the issues being discussed.
People working across sustainability and technology were joined by participants from marketing, academia and startups, with many attending around specific interests rather than simply to follow a general sustainability discussion.
That mix matters because the green transition cuts across sectors. Technology companies are developing tools and infrastructure, financial institutions are considering how capital can support sustainable projects, mobility providers are testing new business models, while policymakers and regulators shape the environment in which those businesses operate.
The result is a conversation that increasingly requires different parts of the economy to engage with one another.
The social side of the green transition
The environmental side of sustainability was also connected to livelihoods, skills and community development.
John Waimiri, Executive Director at The Family Group Foundation, spoke about the foundation’s work supporting vulnerable households through scholarships for secondary and university education, as well as technical and vocational training.
The foundation’s approach includes a focus on moving people from learning to earning, while working through public-private partnerships.
Its environmental work includes ecosystem restoration and reforestation around the Ngong Forest ecosystem, including restoration activity covering hundreds of acres.
That combination illustrates how the green economy conversation extends beyond technology and investment. Skills development, employment, community resilience and ecosystem restoration are also part of how sustainable growth is experienced on the ground.
Bringing the conversation together on October 22
Countdown To GreenShift provided an early look at the questions that will feed into the wider GreenShift Forum 2026 conversation.
The preview brought together practical perspectives on ESG, green financing, carbon markets, e-mobility, technology, skills and environmental restoration, while showing how closely those issues are becoming connected to business decisions.
The main GreenShift Forum will take place on October 22, 2026, bringing together business leaders, policymakers, government representatives, investors, donors and innovators working across areas including renewable energy, e-mobility and green financing.
The Nairobi preview may have been a smaller gathering, but the issues on the table point to a much larger question for businesses and institutions: how to make the green transition commercially viable while delivering measurable environmental and social value.
Real ESG impact doesn’t happen in panels alone, it happens in the rooms where financiers, operators, and policymakers actually align. Our GreenShift Forum 2026 cuts the noise, bringing together the people rewiring Africa’s sustainability and energy frameworks for one focused day in Nairobi. Secure your seat.
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