Youngest COP27 delegate, 9-year-old Karen, gets climate financing from AfDB president

Nine-year-old Keran Kimani, the youngest delegate at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) holding in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, will be receiving funding from the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr Akinwunmi Adesina, through his foundation for her tree-planting project.

Kimani was present at the African Pavilion, where the AfDB was hosting a side event on Thursday.

The side event was the awards ceremony for the African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge (YouthAdapt Challenge).

The challenge is an annual competition and awards programme for youth-led enterprises (50 per cent women-led) jointly organised by the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA), Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and the AfDB.

Kimani from Kenya asked the panel at the awards ceremony which included the AfDB president how she could get funding for her project since she was only nine years old.

Mr Adesina, while responding to her question among other questions, said her project would be funded by next week via a foundation he runs with his wife.

He said, “My wife and I have a foundation that we run. You give me your proposal; you will get funded next week.”
An excited Kimani told Nigerian Tribune that “I do planting of trees. I have a tree nursery with more than 30,000 tree seedlings. I want to start my own factory making biodegradable bottles.

“I started when I was four years old. Then I planted four trees. When I was five years old. Then I planted five trees to mark my fourth birthday. When I was five years old. Then I planted five trees to mark my fifth birthday.”
She said she did that every year up till her ninth birthday.

She stated that when she turns 10 on November 22, she will plant 10 trees to commemorate her birthday.

She said she was into tree planting because “trees are important. Some give us food, some give us medicine. They give us oxygen. I have planted in many places in Kenya, and I want to plant a tree here in Egypt.”

According to the GCA, winners of the second edition of the YouthADAPT Challenge will be awarded business grants of up to $100,000 each and the opportunity to participate in a 12-month business accelerator program to help them scale up their businesses, deepen their impact, and create decent jobs. In addition, the winning youth-led enterprises will be provided with mentorship and support to expand partnerships, knowledge sharing, and learning through a network of young entrepreneurs in climate adaptation.

 

This story was produced as part of the 2022 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.

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