About the Power Up campaign

Turning Kenya's clean energy ambition into reality

Kenya is making important progress in expanding renewable energy, with growing investment in utility-scale geothermal, wind and solar. However, to achieve inclusive economic growth, clean energy must be affordable and support livelihoods, businesses and essential household needs, especially for lower-income communities.

Clean cooking and productive uses of renewable energy offer major opportunities to improve livelihoods, strengthen local economies, advance gender equality and support climate goals. While these sectors are beginning to gain greater recognition in national policy and climate commitments, they remain under-prioritised and underfunded in practice — particularly outside Kenya’s main urban centres — limiting their reach and impact on everyday lives.

What we do

Influence Policy

We campaign for stronger national and county policies, plans and implementation so clean cooking and renewable energy are prioritised where they are needed most. We do this by convening policy dialogues, engaging in government and sector working groups, and advancing evidence-based advocacy shaped by the priorities and challenges facing the sector. We also work to bring in voices from beyond the energy sector, recognising that renewable energy access is closely linked to livelihoods, health, gender equality, agriculture and climate resilience, and requires stronger cross-sector coordination to develop practical and effective policy.

Direct Finance Where It Matters

We campaign for public and private finance to reach clean cooking and renewable energy solutions that benefit businesses, households and underserved communities. This includes convening roundtables with local banks, SACCOs, microfinance institutions, investors, and development partners to help scale practical solutions. Kenya’s local financial institutions already have significant reach and lending power across the country. Better leveraging this finance will be essential to achieving the country’s clean cooking and distributed renewable energy goals at scale.

Convene for Action

We bring together businesses, civil society, public institutions and sector leaders to build momentum and drive practical change. Through quarterly networking forums, we create spaces for members and partners to connect, explore collaborations, and help shape the campaign’s focus. We also support members to showcase their solutions at key platforms such as the Kenya Devolution Conference and Clean Cooking Week, enabling direct engagement between renewable energy experts and practitioners, enterprises, policymakers, sector players and end-users.