Small enterprises honoured for social and environmental change

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have excelled in safeguarding the environmental and socio-economic interests of communities in Africa have been honoured.

B Lab East Africa, a non-profit organisation that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for creating impact, has recognised 12 enterprises as the best for The World 2019 Honorees.

The firms were recognised for attaining the highest environmental, community, customer, worker and overall impact.

They included Pearl Capital Partners, Kuza Biashara, Olivelink Healthcare, Vava Coffee and Trutrade. Others were Strauss Energy, Aqua Clara Kenya, ClimateCare, Kukua Pamoja, Daproim Digital Village Africa and Eco2librium.

Speaking during the awards ceremony in Nairobi on Thursday evening, B Lab East Africa Executive Director Ngwing Kimani said the companies awarded were the most outstanding among those assessed.

“This is a new breed of business leaders who have identified an issue in society and devise ways to solve the challenge while making profit,” she said.

B Lab East Africa Board Chairman Robert Karanja said companies only focused on generating profit with little regard to people and safety of the environment do not have a future.

“Some of the big companies that were in existence 10 years ago have closed shop. They might have been making profit but because they did not look at people and planet, business became unsustainable,” he said.

In the customer category, Pearl Capital Partners which operates in the agricultural food chain was honoured for portfolio management with an investment of Sh2 billion, leading to rural economic growth, creation of employment opportunities and increasing food security.