Twelve Appliance Companies Selected to Support Job & Income Growth for Women in Kenya
CLASP and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet will provide funding and support through the Productive Use Financing Facility.
The Productive Use Financing Facility has chosen 12 appliance companies in Kenya to receive funding, with the goal of supporting job and income growth for women. This funding will allow our partners to sell agricultural appliances to women entrepreneurs at lower prices, making them more accessible to those who benefit from them most.
Appliances can support formal job creation for women
In Kenya, women face high rates of vulnerable employment, with 74% in vulnerable employment compared to 56% of men. The lack of formal work arrangements, social protections, and safety nets makes them more likely to fall into poverty.
Agricultural equipment like solar water pumps and mills can help address this challenge by creating dignified formal jobs in the agricultural sector in rural communities. However, the high upfront cost and limited availability of this equipment, as well as low consumer awareness, prevent widespread adoption.
Partnerships to improve livelihoods
Initiatives like the Productive Use Financing Facility are working to bridge this gap. This program, which is managed by CLASP and supported by the Global Energy Alliance , aims to accelerate the uptake of clean, energy-efficient appliances that power small businesses, support farmers, and transform the lives of people across Africa. Since 2022, it has provided grants, subsidies, and technical assistance to suppliers and distributors of agricultural equipment, helping them lower prices and reach more customers.
In June 2025, CLASP and the Alliance expanded the facility with a $6.1 million USD funding boost, with the goal of improving the livelihoods of over 45,000 people across Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia.
For this first round of funding, CLASP and the Alliance are supporting 12 PUE appliances and equipment companies with an aim of improving the livelihoods of more than 3,000 women across Kenya.
After a thorough evaluation, the facility has selected 12 suppliers and distributors for this funding round.
Meet the new participants
| Company | Focus Technology | About |
|---|---|---|
| Nachi Solutions Ltd | Grain mills | Nachi specializes in offering innovative and cost-effective solutions to promote clean and renewable energy sources, design energy-efficient buildings, and provide sustainable water management systems. |
| Irri Hub Ke | Solar water pumps | Irri Hub Ke designs and implements low-cost water management solutions that help smallholder farmers increase yield and predictability of produce. |
| Baridi | Walk-in cold room units and Refrigerator/Freezers | Baridi provides customized and sustainable chilling and freezing off-grid solar-powered technologies to enable energy independence and ensure fresh, safe products across livestock, horticulture, dairy, and fish value chains. |
| Sunspot Energy Kenya Limited | Grain mills | Sunspot’s mission is to transform the way we generate and use energy, optimize renewable energy systems, and utilize the cleanest, most efficient, and affordable solar energy solutions. |
| d.light | Refrigerators/ Freezers | d.light makes reliable, affordable solar energy accessible to low-income families worldwide. d.light empowers communities with dependable solar energy solutions, essential appliances, and smartphones. |
| Grekkon Limited | Solar water pumps | Grekkon Limited is an African-owned firm whose vision is to work with growers to create long-lasting agricultural solutions. |
| Drop Access Limited | Refrigerators/Freezers | Drop Access is a Kenyan social enterprise founded with a bold mission: to make essential healthcare and climate-smart innovations accessible to the most underserved communities. |
| Koolboks | Refrigerators/Freezers | Koolboks makes refrigeration accessible and affordable to all. Its solar-powered freezers enable everyone to access eco-friendly refrigeration. |
| SunCulture Kenya Limited | Solar water pumps | SunCulture uses off-grid solar technology to provide customers with reliable access to water, irrigation, lighting, and mobile charging. Its mission is to develop and commercialize life-changing technologies that solve the biggest daily challenges of the world’s 570 million smallholder farming households. |
| Davis & Shirtliff Ltd. | Solar water pumps | Davis and Shirtliff is a leading supplier of water and energy-related equipment and solutions in the East African region. |
| Ustawi | Solar water pumps | Ustawi provides rural farmers with tools, inputs, knowledge, and capital, enabling them to carry out farming activities sustainably. |
| SokoFresh | Walk-in cold room units | SokoFresh is an award-winning, impact-driven company that exists to enhance economic opportunities for rural communities that work in agriculture. |
About the Productive Use Financing Facility
The Productive Use Financing Facility (the Financing Facility) is an innovative program that provides grants, subsidies, and technical assistance to suppliers and distributors to lower appliance prices and reach more customers. This makes it easier for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and households to buy energy-efficient technologies, such as solar water pumps, mills, and refrigerators, at favorable prices.
This program is supported by the Global Alliance for People and Planet . For more information, read the PUFF 2.0 press release, contact financing@clasp.ngo, and follow us on LinkedIn for regular updates on how the facility is benefiting people and our planet.
About CLASP
CLASP is the leading global authority on efficient appliances’ role in fighting climate change and improving people’s lives. With 25 years of expertise and offices on four continents, CLASP collaborates with policymakers, industry leaders, and other experts to deliver clear pathways to a more sustainable world for people and the planet.
About the Global Alliance for People and Planet
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet works for a world where everyone has access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity and the means to use it to improve their lives. Our Alliance builds transformative public, private, philanthropic partnerships to end energy poverty and accelerate green economic opportunity. Founded in 2021 by The Rockefeller Foundation, IKEA Foundation, and Bezos Earth Fund, we unlock finance, strengthen institutions and transform markets, delivering progress anchored in deep community engagement. By uniting actors across the value chain, from households to heads of state, we go beyond individual projects to drive lasting systems change. With work in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, our Alliance aims to reach 1 billion people with clean electricity, prevent 4 billion tons of carbon emissions and create or improve 150 million jobs. For more information, please visit www.energyalliance.org and follow us on X at @EnergyAlliance.