The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has officially launched preparations for the upcoming Sustainable Energy Conference (SEC) 2026, set to take place from November 24 to 27, 2026, at the KenGen Olkaria Geothermal Spa in Naivasha.
Operating under the theme ‘Powering Africa’s Green Industrial Revolution’, the continental summit aims to bridge the gap between Africa’s vast renewable energy potential and tangible economic prosperity.
Addressing the media during the launch, KenGen Acting Managing Director and CEO Eng. Ronoh Kibet highlighted the stark financial paradox confronting the continent. Citing data from the International Energy Agency, Eng. Kibet noted that while Africa accounts for approximately 20 per cent of the world’s population, it captures less than 3 per cent of global energy investments and a meagre 2 per cent of clean energy investments, leaving roughly 600 million people without electricity access.
“Africa does not suffer from a shortage of resources. It suffers from a shortage of investment in transforming those resources into prosperity,” stated Eng. Kibet.
“We have the sun. We have the wind. We have the rivers. And beneath our feet, extraordinary geothermal resources. What we need now is the capital, the partnerships and, above all, the discipline to turn that potential into economic progress,” he added.
The KenGen CEO further emphasised that generation metrics alone do not define success.
“The true measure of Africa’s energy transformation will not simply be how many megawatts we generate. It will be how many industries we power, how many jobs we create and how many lives we transform,” he explained, adding that electricity serves as an enabler, industry acts as the multiplier, and prosperity remains the ultimate dividend.
Notably, the four-day high-level conference is projected to draw more than 1,500 delegates from over 80 countries, including 200 investors, 40 financiers, 100 utilities and power producers, and 100 corporate exhibitors.
Rather than functioning as a standard talk shop, SEC 2026 is designed to transition dialogue into concrete deals, moving from commitments to capital and from potential to active projects.
To achieve this, the forum is anchored on four strategic pillars: benchmarking performance against global peers, fostering targeted networking, securing robust financing, and enabling intra-African trade.
Emphasising the significance of the venue, Eng. Kibet noted that Olkaria stands as living proof of what becomes possible when a nation invests in its own potential.
As the leading electric power producer in the Eastern Africa region with an installed generation capacity market share of about 60 per cent, KenGen currently boasts an overall installed capacity of 1,786 MW. More than 90 per cent of this generation capacity stems from clean, renewable sources, including 826 MW from hydro, 754 MW from geothermal, and 25.5 MW from wind, with the remainder from thermal.
Through the newly established KenGen Green Energy Park at Olkaria, Eng. Kibet highlighted that the company is advancing this mission by transmitting clean, reliable geothermal power directly to manufacturing enterprises, enterprise hubs, and industrial developments.
“We are moving beyond generating green power to enabling a green economy. And herein lies Africa’s next great competitive advantage. We should not be content to supply the world with the resources that power its green revolution while importing the prosperity that follows. We must build our own industries,” he urged.
Extending a broad invitation to global stakeholders, KenGen encouraged investors, technology providers, project developers, utilities, and corporate energy consumers to bring their innovations, ideas, and investment appetites to Naivasha.
Ultimately, Eng. Kibet challenged the Fourth Estate to help tell a comprehensive story of transformation that outlasts the conference.
“The success of SEC 2026 will not be measured by the number of speeches delivered. It will be measured by the investments mobilised, the partnerships realised and the economic opportunities created,” he declared. “Let Olkaria be remembered not simply as the place where Africa gathered to discuss its green industrial future, but as the place where we helped set that future in motion.”
By Zipporah Odionyi
