On February 28, 2024, TradeMark Africa (TMA), through USAID-ERRA, signed a $530,000 grant with Trade Catalyst Africa (TCA), its commercial arm that was recently established to support trade and investment to support the ‘greening’ of industrial warehousing space in the EPZ Athi River, Kenya. The aim is to address the growing demand for a more sustainable footprint in the garments sector. Specifically, this grant will help TCA support developers in reducing their carbon footprint by providing solar renewable energy and water conservation through effective rainwater harvesting.

As consumer trends in the garment sector shift from ‘fast’ fashion to more sustainable fashion, apparel suppliers are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their “green” credentials to meet this growing demand. This grant will serve as a model for sustainable warehouse development in the region and set a new standard for eco-friendly industrial buildings in Kenya. Adopting energy-efficient technologies is anticipated to reduce the carbon footprint with an estimated savings of 18 tons of CO2/year and 1000 m3/year of water savings in a 5000 m2 warehousing space. These features will help secure the much sought-after EDGE Green Building Certification.

Given this shifting trend and Kenya’s growing attractiveness as a destination market for garment manufacturing, this is expected to attract garment investors, leading to job creation, particularly for women, and an increase in exports.