“The recognition of the Agricultural Finance Corporation of Kenya for Outstanding Business Sustainability Achievement carries a particularly important message: Sustainability Certification should never be seen as the destination. Its real value lies in what an institution does with it.
When AFC became the first institution in Kenya to achieve Sustainability Certification, it made a commitment to embed sustainability into the way the Corporation is governed, how it does business and, most importantly, how it contributes to the transformation of Kenyan agriculture.
Since then, AFC has continued to translate that commitment into action.
This matters because agriculture is not simply another sector of the economy. It is fundamental to food security, employment, enterprise development, industrial growth, trade and national economic resilience. And as climate change, technological advancement and changing markets reshape agriculture, the institutions financing the sector must evolve with equal determination.
AFC has the opportunity to demonstrate what an agricultural development finance institution can become when sustainability is translated into better financing, stronger agricultural value chains, more competitive enterprises and greater resilience across the sector.
The Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Award therefore recognises the progress AFC has made while setting a higher benchmark for the future. The real measure of this achievement will be how effectively the Corporation uses its financing capacity and institutional capabilities to strengthen agricultural value chains, enable competitive enterprises, accelerate value addition and help build a more resilient and high-value agricultural economy for Kenya.
I congratulate Mr George Kubai, Managing Director of AFC, the Board, management and the entire AFC team on this well-deserved recognition. I look forward to seeing Mr Kubai and his team build on this achievement and demonstrate how a Sustainability Certified Financial Institution can become a powerful force for transforming an industry, strengthening an economy and creating lasting value for people.”
Arshad Rab
Chairman, International Council of Sustainability Standards for Value-Driven Financial Institutions and CEO, European Organisation for Sustainable Development (EOSD)
I congratulate Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu, Deputy Governor Dr Jesimen Chipika, the Board, management and the entire team at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe for the leadership, commitment and determination that have brought the Bank to this important milestone.”
– Arshad Rab
Chairman, International Council of Sustainability Standards for Value-Driven Financial Institutions and CEO, European Organisation for Sustainable Development (EOSD)
