British High Commissioner to Kenya, Neil Wigan delivers remarks at the Africa Climate Summit networking event in Nairobi.
Manufacturing Africa (MA) provided a platform for the growth of green businesses at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) held from the 4th – 6th September 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya. The summit was hosted jointly by the Republic of Kenya and the African Union, with President William Ruto of Kenya being the host.
The summit brought together over 20,000 delegates, who attended over 150 public events, including over 100 official side events. Global and African leaders attended including 20 heads of state, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, the CEO designate of COP 28 Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, and U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry. ACS networking event and reception
MA support to ACS focused on organizing a networking event for building green business and positioning transactions in a deal room which was set up to connect green businesses with investors.
The private sector networking event on climate finance and green business building gathered over 120 in person attendees and 297 online participants via digital platforms.
The opening remarks were delivered by the Assistant Secretary Alexia Latortue, International Trade and Development, US Department of the Treasury, and by the British Ambassador to Kenya, Mr. Neil Wigan OBE, on behalf of Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell Minister for Development and Africa.
The event also featured a panel discussion with five panelists from African startups and investors.
Assistant Secretary Alexia Latortue, International Trade and Development, US Department of the Treasury delivers an opening statement.
A section of the audience following proceedings at the event.
Deal Room
A deal room was set up to showcase innovative Africa-based climate projects and connect project developers to investors. The deal rooms were structured according to the size of potential investment deal and where possible grouped by pillar.
In the large deal room that featured ticket sizes of more than $5 million, 17 organizations pitched over the 3 summit days. The small deal room that had deal sizes of less than $5 million had 22 project developers over the 3 summit days.
On the closing day of ACS, President William Ruto announced that, during the Summit, $23 billion had been pledged to tackle climate change in Africa. In addition, the Manufacturing Africa supported ACS deal rooms facilitated 39 showcases of firms and funds with a total value of $34 billion in private investment.
