Leveraging Dynamic Capabilities to Overcome Financing Barriers and Drive Sustainability of Solar Social Enterprises in Kenya
Keywords:
Dynamic capabilities, social enterprises, financing, sustainability, social entrepreneurship
Abstract
This study examined how financing and dynamic capabilities, affect the sustainability of solar social enterprises (SSEs) in Nairobi County, Kenya. Against the backdrop of persistent energy access challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, the research aimed to find out how SSEs navigate financing barriers and leverage dynamic capabilities to achieve sustainable growth. Employing a qualitative case study approach, the study draws on in-depth interviews with SSE founders and managers, triangulated with business documents and sectoral reports. Key findings reveal that SSEs face significant obstacles in accessing finance, including perceived bias, banks’ risk aversion, and rigorous due diligence requirements - challenges that disproportionately affect locally owned enterprises. The study found entrepreneurial alertness, strategic agility and resource orchestration as the entrepreneurial dynamic capabilities enabling SSEs to mobilize resources, adapt to market shifts, and sustain operations. The study concludes that adapting financing models to local contexts and supporting the development of dynamic capabilities are vital for the long-term growth of SSEs. Interventions fostering inclusive investment and capacity-building are recommended to advance sustainable growth in Kenya’s dynamic solar sector.
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References
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36. Luo, Y., & Rui, H. (2009). An ambidexterity perspective towards multinational enterprises from emerging economies. Organization Science, 13, 48-63.
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38. Manwari, L., Ngare, P., & Kipsang, R. (2017). Access to finance for women entrepreneurs in Kenya: Challenges and opportunities . Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.10520/EJC-803c7be1e
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41. Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. (2015). Universal energy access: An enterprise system approach. Santa Clara University. https://www.millersocent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/UniversalEnergyAccess-MillerCenterWhitePaperEditedUnitedNationspg.11.pdf
42. Mungai, F., & Peacock, C. (2019, July 16). Impact investment favours expats over African entrepreneurs. Here’s how to fix that. World Economic Forum. OECD. (2017).
43. Park, E., Martins, R. M., Hain, D. S., & Jurowetzki, R. (2017). Mapping entrepreneurial ecosystem for technology start-ups in developing economies: An empirical analysis of Twitter networks between start-ups and support organizations of Nairobi’s digital economy. In: C. Daniels, M. Dosso, & J. Amadi-Echendu (Eds.), Entrepreneurship, technology commercialisation, and innovation policy in Africa, pp. 55–97. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58240-1_4
44. Park, J. (2021). Theorizing and learning from Kenya’s evolving solar energy enterprise development. Energy Research & Social Science, 81, 102254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102254
45. Phillips, J., Plutshack, V., & Yeazel, S. (2020). Lessons for modernizing energy access finance, Part 1: What the electrification experiences of seven countries tell us about the future of connection costs, subsidies and integrated planning. Duke University. https://energyaccess.duke.edu/publication/learning-from-the-past/
46. Power Africa (2023) Demystifying securitization for solar pay-as-you-go companies. Power Africa.
47. Rashid, S., & Ratten, V. (2021). Entrepreneurial ecosystems during COVID-19: The survival of small businesses using dynamic capabilities. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 17(3), pp. 457 –476. https://doi.org/10.1108/wjemsd-09-2020-0110
48. Riviere, M., Bass, A. E., & Andersson, U. (2020). Dynamic capability development in multinational enterprises: Reconciling routine reconfiguration between the headquarters and subsidiaries. Global Strategy Journal, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1389
49. Roundy, P.T., Harrison, D.A., Khavul, S., Pérez-Nordtvedt, L. and McGee, J.E. (2018). “Entrepreneurial alertness as a pathway to strategic decisions and organizational performance”, Strategic Organization, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 192-226.
50. Sanyal, S., Chen, C. & Caldwell, M. (2020). The impact investors’ blind spot: Local clean energy entrepreneurs in Kenya. (Working paper). World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/research/impact-investors-blind-spot-local-clean-energy-entrepreneurs-kenya
51. Sanyal, S., Prins, J., Visco, F., & Pinchot, A. (2016). Stimulating pay-as-you-go energy access in Kenya and Tanzania: The role of development finance. World Resources Institute. https://www.gogla.org/sites/default/files/recource_docs/stimulating_pay-as-you-go_energy_access_in_kenya_and_tanzania_the_role_of_development_finance.pdf
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Published
2025-10-10
How to Cite
Kahinga, E., Kitonga, D., & Kinyua, L. (2025). Leveraging Dynamic Capabilities to Overcome Financing Barriers and Drive Sustainability of Solar Social Enterprises in Kenya. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 46, 15. Retrieved from https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/20149
Section
ESI Preprints
Copyright (c) 2025 Esther Kahinga, Daniel Kitonga, Lucy Kinyua
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
