The Kenya Vision 2030 outlines that education is a social pillar and integral to the transformation of Kenya into a middle-income country and improve the quality of life for its citizens.
One of the main barriers to positive, sustainable development is substituting old technology for sustainable products. This is because of several factors, including cost, cultural and social constructs, and a lack of education on the subject. KCV’s investment processes outline collaboration with several climate-smart enterprises, and one of the key factors is spreading knowledge and teaching youth.
One of the biggest challenges that Agriflora Limited stated in their distribution of organic fertilizer is convincing the public to use their resources and gain locals’ trust. If a community doesn’t believe in the products or lacks awareness of the benefits, they don’t have an incentive to use sustainable products instead of traditional environmentally damaging technologies they are accustomed to.
HornAfrik Limited is an organization that focuses on the collection and formation of gums to supply job opportunities to local pastorals and utilize untapped resources. A significant factor in how their organization works is that they aim to train youth to harvest and collect gums to build a community around their process. This is also prioritized with Hydroponics Africa Limited, as teaching others how their hydroponics machines function is integral to their longevity and consistency.
Through the process of education, communities can cooperate with organizations such as those that KCV invests in and accelerate the journey to a climate-smart society. Local businesses are also key to raising awareness due to the occasional resistance towards foreign aid organizations. The history of development regarding the western world and external nations have often exploited the communities they aim to help; as a result, a decreased reputation and lack of trust have formed within several African societies. However, local businesses create a sense of trust and understanding, with a better chance of successfully educating local communities and having them implement sustainable technologies and products.
Collaborations with these local businesses and the community are always an essential aspect of success in introducing new products and items. This is a factor that numerous companies, such as those mentioned above, try to emphasize in their process. In KCV’s investment process, they also provide training and technology support with new products. KCV emphasizes the importance of teaching an individual so that they can use that knowledge rather than just providing them momentary relief, this process is vital to the success of implementing sustainable products.
By Christiane Amare Lemma
