The Government of Kenya has received an additional KES 3.9 billion (US$30 million) from the World Bank to scale up the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) Program, following exceptional performance by counties and surging demand for community-driven climate resilience investments.
The new funding will not introduce new activities but will deepen implementation of ongoing climate resilience investments already underway across Kenya’s counties and wards. It will also trigger a program restructuring to sharpen results measurement, with updated indicators tracking the number of beneficiaries, landscapes under sustainable management, ward-level resilience investments, and the strength of county climate institutions.
Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury, FCPA John Mbadi, said the results on the ground validate the locally-led approach.
“FLLoCA is showing that when counties and communities are empowered with the right resources and institutions, they can deliver practical solutions that strengthen livelihoods while addressing climate risks,” he said. “The progress we are witnessing across the country confirms that locally led climate action works. This additional financing will allow us to scale these efforts and reach even more communities.”
Since its launch, FLLoCA has grown into Kenya’s flagship channel for delivering climate finance through the devolved government system, allowing counties and communities to design solutions tailored to their specific climate vulnerabilities. To date, the program has supported over 2,200 locally identified resilience investments spanning water access, climate-smart agriculture, landscape restoration, renewable energy, and livelihood diversification across 1,238 wards. The investments are projected to improve water access for over one million Kenyans.
Principal Secretary, National Treasury, Dr. Chris Kiptoo, said Kenya’s model is drawing growing international interest as one of Africa’s most innovative frameworks for channeling climate finance directly to communities.
“Kenya has built one of Africa’s most promising locally led climate finance models,” Dr. Kiptoo said. “By channeling resources directly to counties and communities, FLLoCA is strengthening resilience while ensuring climate investments deliver tangible benefits on the ground.”
The program’s performance has far exceeded initial projections. At the outset, only 32 counties were expected to qualify for the second cycle of County Climate Resilience Investment (CCRI) grants — yet 45 counties qualified in the first cycle and 42 in the second. The average Annual Performance Assessment score among participating counties stands at 87%, well above the 70% target.
Financial disbursements have similarly outpaced expectations. Where KES 11 billion (US$85 million) was projected at this stage, actual disbursements have reached KES 14 billion (US$108.75 million).
All 47 counties have now enacted County Climate Change Fund legislation, requiring each to allocate at least 1.5% of their development budgets to climate resilience — creating a sustainable funding framework that will outlast the program itself.