Protected: Kenya Innovative Finance Facility for Water (KIFFWA) – 2.0
Kenya’s water sector is hindered by a lack of investment, particularly in early-stage initiatives that private investors often consider too risky. Even when funds are accessible, capital frequently bypasses water projects perceived as unbankable. KIFFWA provides early-stage capital to support the sector.
The challenge
The initial KIFFWA model aimed to fill this gap but encountered several limitations: difficult exits, limited visibility in technical assistance, and restricted potential for subsequent funding rounds. The objective was to enhance KIFFWA’s model, attract co-investors, and improve the flexibility, efficiency, and sustainability of capital deployment. KIFFWA required a framework that would facilitate greater impact, increase leverage, and mitigate risks across the entire project lifecycle, thereby stimulating investment in neglected water-climate ventures.
The approach
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Technical Assistance (TA) Grant Facility
Rebel helped formalize this window to explicitly allocate, track, and value technical assistance. This ensured TA contributions became visible, auditable, and catalytic, rather than remaining an informal cost center. It also enabled better planning, monitoring, and evaluation of support activities such as legal structuring, financial modeling, and transaction preparation. -
Development Facility
Rebel restructured the development financing instrument from equity and grants to self-liquidating debt. This strategic shift made investments more attractive and efficient, reduced legal complexity, and facilitated easier exits by allowing refinancing at financial close. The facility co-finances early-stage preparation, creating investor-ready opportunities and avoiding the “first valley of death.” -
Project Facilitation Facility
Rebel introduced this window to enable KIFFWA to remain engaged beyond financial close, thereby de-risking implementation for new investors. By financing up to 20% of implementation costs, KIFFWA could signal commitment, ensure continuity, and facilitate blended deals that reassured other financiers. This addressed the gap in which projects, despite reaching financial close, still lacked the capital to begin execution. -
Scale-Up Facility
Rebel proposed a targeted growth capital facility for small and growing enterprises (SGEs) transitioning from start-up to scale. This addressed the “second valley of death” and supported project developers in replicating or expanding successful models. Capital provided through this facility is patient, risk-tolerant, and tied to performance milestones.
Beyond financial restructuring, Rebel also guided a revamp of KIFFWA’s strategic focus. From the outset of each project, the team emphasized investor alignment, applied a rigorous intake process to identify only the most promising entrepreneurs, and incorporated strict governance to optimize resource efficiency.
Rebel also ensured the model was both flexible and scalable. With a regional focus, KIFFWA 2.0 allowed for pan-African expansion wherever promising prospects or successful businesses emerged. Leveraging investor mandates, aligning with SDGs (6, 8, and 13), and providing tailored tools to support projects through planning, execution, and scaling were all emphasized in the framework.
In the water-climate finance space, Rebel helped transform KIFFWA from a last-resort funder into a strategic co-investor and ecosystem enabler by driving this end-to-end change.
Impact
Rebel restructured KIFFWA into a flexible, blended finance platform will postioned to attracting additional funding for sustainable water-climate investments in Africa.
