Investment readiness coaching opens up opportunities for climate technology start-ups
Seven clean energy start-up companies are ready to seize new market opportunities thanks to a training programme devised to prepare them to pitch successfully to investors.
Seven clients of the Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC) have received investment readiness training in a 6-month pilot project that comes to an end this month. Energy 4 Impact was appointed by KCIC to provide the companies with coaching and support to improve their business proposals so they are able to present themselves to investors with a greater chance of raising capital.
The seven businesses – Eco Agribusiness, Wanda Organics, Hydroponics, Olkaria Biofuels Limited, Kings Biofuels, Hermisons Limited and Global Supply Solutions – were selected to pioneer in the programme among a pool of 137 businesses.
The Energy 4 Impact’s Advisory team held an inception meeting with the businesses in mid-June to introduce the main elements of the investment readiness process, including gap analysis, strategy for scale, financial plan and investment case and linkages to potential investors.
The Advisory met with each business to understand their business gaps. This formed the basis for the strategy sessions that we conducted throughout September and October at the KCIC premises at Strathmore University, Nairobi. The output from the strategy session was an implementation roadmap and key milestones. Our team has been checking in regularly to help the clients achieve their milestones,
-says Energy 4 Impact Head of Advisory Services Shashank Verma.
Some of the milestones include: improving on production efficiency, formalising contracts with their key employees, securing contracts with key suppliers of their core raw materials and the key customers of their products and employing key staff to run their production and marketing among others.
We presented our feedback from the trainings and individual performance of each of the clients to KCIC. This enabled KCIC to learn from the pilot and roll out the service on a larger scale. We plan to introduce the seven to investors including the Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV) as a pipeline of investable deals for appropriate consideration,
-adds Verma.
The KCV is an innovative private sector financing facility that will provide seed and early stage financing to promising start-up and early-stage firms developing innovative and profitable renewable energy and climate technology businesses for Kenya. It has been set up by and capitalises on the activities of the existing KCIC.
As part of its advisory support service to businesses, Energy 4 Impact will visit some of the clients in order to understand their challenges as they implement the agreed milestones and subsequently introduce the viable ones to some investors.