The eco.business Fund has extended a USD 5 million loan, equivalent to KES 805 million, to its partner in Kenya, Family Bank to bolster sustainability-certified companies, small-holder farmers and other agribusiness value chain actors embracing eco-friendly and climate-smart approaches to enhance the competitiveness of agribusinesses.
In 2022, the fund invested USD 10 million in the Bank which was directed towards fostering sustainable practices in agribusiness value chains.
Expressing enthusiasm for the collaboration, Michael Evers, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the eco.business Fund, stated, “We are delighted to strengthen this promising partnership with Family Bank Kenya. Together, we aspire to enhance support for agribusinesses in Kenya. We seek to adopt sustainable practices, playing a pivotal role in biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource utilization, and climate change mitigation and adaptation in this biodiverse region.”
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations statistics show that despite agriculture being vital to Kenya’s economy by contributing 33 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, the vast majority of Kenya’s 7.5 million smallholder farmers, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, still live on less than USD 6 a day, just half the country’s living-income threshold.