The Kenya Cold Chain Accelerator (KCCA), a partnership between Energy Saving Trust, Energy 4 Impact, and GOGLA, hosted an inception workshop in Nairobi this November to advance cold chain infrastructure development. The event brought together stakeholders from government, industry, and development sectors to promote sustainable, efficient, and accessible cold chain solutions.
Government representatives emphasized the importance of cold chain systems for food security, climate adaptation, job creation, and expanding market access for smallholder farmers. Sectors such as horticulture, dairy, meat, and fisheries are seen as central to Kenya’s economic and climate resilience goals.
KCCA’s approach includes supporting cold chain innovators, providing technical assistance and skills development, and promoting cross-sector policy dialogue. The aim is to establish a sustainable ecosystem that integrates enterprise support, policy reforms, and market intelligence.
Emerging business models such as Cooling-as-a-Service, leasing, and aggregator-led solutions are gaining traction, especially those based on solar refrigeration, thermal storage, and IoT monitoring. However, barriers remain, including high import duties—reported to increase equipment costs by up to 50%—regulatory inconsistencies, limited asset utilization due to seasonal demand, and a lack of performance data that hinders financing.
Cooperatives and producer organisations are seen as promising vehicles for scaling cold chain deployment due to their structure and financial capacity. Policy developments are also progressing, with efforts to expand Minimum Energy Performance Standards, promote natural refrigerants under the Kigali Amendment, integrate cooling into county-level plans, and scale technician training programs.
The workshop highlighted that sustained collaboration across public, private, and development sectors is necessary to overcome systemic challenges and build an integrated cold chain ecosystem in Kenya.