This year’s edition of Endeva’s ii2030 focused on the topic of supporting startups in green hydrogen. To elaborate on this, multiple stakeholders from academia, government, private sector, development partners and startups co-created a systemic solution enabling entrepreneurs and technicians to build a one-stop-shop for Kenya’s green hydrogen sector.
The results of the ii2030 Green Hydrogen in Kenya Edition can be downloaded here:
ii2030 GH2 in Kenya – Full documentation
ii2030 GH2 in Kenya – Country Brief
After a six month journey including desk research, bilateral interviews, online consultations, a pan-African peer exchange event and an in-person workshop in Nairobi, we created a model for the Green Hydrogen (GH2) Center of Excellence (CoE), a one-stop-shop for green hydrogen innovation with all relevant actors and resources that enable innovation ecosystems to thrive.
Through a co-creative process, stakeholders developed a roadmap to finalize a concept note by the end of 2023. For the initial concept phase of the Center, the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance (AGHA) is well-positioned as a lead anchor partner to continue bringing together the relevant local, national and regional stakeholders.
Features of the CoE could include:
- A hybrid center with physical (training) premises and virtual information/learning platform
- Incubator and accelerator programs for startups and innovators
- GH2 research, product development and innovation lab for startups, companies and training institutes
- Information center for communities and NGOs
- Enabling infrastructure for startups support with entrepreneurial trainings and mentoring
Organizations such as the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), KenGen (the parastatal to generate electricity), GIZ, the EU delegation, PtX Hub, the Green Hydrogen Organization (GH2), Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Circle Innovation, the Technical University in Kenya (TUK), project developers, FFI, Toyota, Strathmore University and green hydrogen startups including Kmaali Group were among those contributing to the process. All relevant stakeholders will be involved in the development of the concept note, which will be open for feedback and contribution during a 2-months period, leading up to a soft-launch/announcement during the Africa Climate Week in Nairobi in early September 2023.
If you are interested in contributing to the GH2 Center of Excellence and would like to be involved in the planning and implementation of the project, please contact Stef Engels at s.engels@endeva.org for more information.
The idea for a Green Hydrogen CoE integrated three solution prototypes participants created over the course of the workshop. These three prototypes emerged from the main themes of participants’ proposed solutions to better-capacitate startups in Kenya’s green hydrogen sector, including physical and virtual infrastructure, financial solutions and services.
Based on participants’ feedback and the energy in the room, the idea of a GH2 Center of Excellence took shape, which could integrate all envisioned ideas into one solution.
The ii2030 Green Hydrogen in Africa Edition is a year-long process that began in December 2022 to help understand the existing ecosystem and explore opportunities for local startups and (digital) innovators in the green hydrogen sectors in Kenya, Namibia and South Africa. The ii2030 methodology provides local actors with a platform to voice their needs and contribute to co-creating grassroots solutions for improving the ecosystem they take part in.
This edition of ii2030 is powered by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and fully funded by GIZ Make-IT in Africa on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). As a mission-led non-profit organization, we are independent and impact-focused. Our mission is to help create systems that serve people and the planet, and we believe that through collaboration, we can make it happen.
