With the overall goal of mitigating the impact of climate change in so many ways that benefit the most vulnerable and marginalized in the society, K-Rep Development Agency (KDA) commenced this project in January 2013 which was implemented for a period of 18 months with an extension period of 12 months. During this period, an elaborate and fully functional monitoring and evaluation system was instituted to ensure constant tracking of project outputs, intermediate and long-term outcomes. The final evaluation of the climate change mitigation program through micro finance credit was conducted in December 2015 after mid-term evaluation by a team of consultants from Qunnar Holdings company Limited with complementary expertise and experience, with the objectives to: 1) Ascertain the extent to which the KDA project of mitigating climate change through adoption of renewable energy has achieved its goal and objectives as captured in the strategic program documents, 2) Assess the results and contribution of the KDA program of climate change mitigation through adoption of renewable energy. This assessment is discussed under the following themes: Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Results and Sustainability, 3) provide a high-level assessment of the benefits accruing from KDA project to direct and indirect beneficiaries compared to the investments made, and 4) To extract key lessons learnt from implementation of the project. The overall evaluation was conducted in two phases: (i) the inception phase, which aimed to plan and scope the evaluation and develop the evaluation tools; and (ii) the data collection, analysis and reporting phase. Data collection tools included an in-depth key informant interviews and desk reviews including Project proposal, End term evaluation terms of reference, Mid-term evaluation reports, Project work and implementation plan, Programmatic and financial reports, Activity reports, Meeting minutes, Project M and E plan, National strategic and legal documents and other reference materials that were informative to the evaluation. The end of project evaluation was largely qualitative involving collection of data in word content form. These approaches assessed the project success and the extent to which the project achieved its goals and objectives.
The overall results show that the project was a huge success which was a function of many variables including but not limited to: key stakeholder involvement and adequate creation of awareness and education amongst target communities, availing credit facilities to the communities and offering them with ongoing technical support and guidance , involving strategic partners in consultative meetings and providing adequate training on business management skills and financial literacy to local communities.
KDA?s institutional, administrative and management set-up was suitable, efficiently and effectively supported the project which has culminated into huge benefits to the wider society moving forward. This significant success is a clear demonstration for the need to design, develop and roll out a biogas and solar energy microfinance product targeting small scale farmers. The suitability and effectiveness of the micro finance biogas product developed by KDA attracted other financiers in the market to finance FSAs to increase the uptake of biogas technology. RABO Bank, a Netherlands Development Bank adopted the product features through SNV to lend to KINA FSA Kshs.8 million for the farmers to acquire biogas digesters.
Although different partners were involved in the implementation of the climate change mitigation project, there was meaningful coordination that allowed for specific interventions at specified intervals. Each partner clearly understood their role in the overall project. Although a number of challenges were faced during the implementation phase, the evaluation team considers that overall, KDA was efficient in selecting and supporting project activities, mentoring, supporting their technical implementation and monitoring and evaluation. Communication within KDA was generally impressive, even though an occasional lack of communication between different partners and the timing of the communication was quite a challenge. Although the project was involving and time-consuming, the overall result was effective in monitoring, evaluating and reporting outcomes generated by the project supported in an all-inclusive and participatory way.