What We Do

Programs and
Areas of Focus

Three integrated pillars and six thematic areas working together to build lasting resilience in Africa's most climate-vulnerable communities.

Our Vision

A climate-resilient, food-secure Africa.

Powered by community innovation, technology, and storytelling for transformational impact across the continent.

Our Mission

Equip. Innovate. Amplify.

To equip frontline communities with tools, technology, and storytelling power to drive environmental transformation, economic resilience, and social equity.

Theory of Change

Innovation drives sustainability drives stories drives investment.

When communities are equipped and their success is told, they inspire replication, influence policy, and attract the investment that makes it all self-sustaining.

Our 3 Pillars

Three hubs, fully integrated.

Across Africa’s climate-vulnerable regions, communities are already responding to environmental change with resilience and ingenuity. At Square One Eco Africa (SOEA), we work alongside these communities to co-design climate solutions that combine practical innovation, digital technology, and storytelling for transformational impact. Our approach ensures that every initiative is built with a clear sustainability pathway, one where communities gain the tools, knowledge, and ownership needed to continue, adapt, finance, and replicate solutions independently. By integrating implementation, innovation, and narrative power, we transform local resilience into scalable models that strengthen livelihoods, restore ecosystems, and inspire broader systems change across Africa.

The loop reinforces itself. That is the point.

Result
+70%
yield improvement when sustainability meets technology
Result
+60%
donor traction when technology meets storytelling
Coverage
6 ASAL counties in Kenya, expanding to East,Southern, West and Central Africa by 2028
Hands holding a seedling with soil and roots visible, Kenya
Pillar 01

Eco-Development Sustainability

The Eco-Sustainable Development pillar focuses on designing and implementing community-driven climate adaptation and sustainable livelihood programs across Africa’s climate-vulnerable regions. Our approach moves beyond short-term project cycles toward long-term sustainability. Every program we co-design incorporates clear transition and exit strategies that enable communities to sustain and evolve the solutions independently. Working closely with communities, particularly in arid and semi-arid (ASAL) regions and coastal ecosystems, we support initiatives that strengthen food security, regenerative agriculture, climate-resilient livelihoods, and environmental stewardship. Programs are intentionally structured to be scalable and replicable, allowing successful models to expand beyond their original communities. Through this pillar, SOEA works to build practical climate solutions that communities can own, adapt, and sustain, ensuring that development interventions create lasting impact long after external support has ended

See focus areas →
tech
Pillar 02

Eco-Tech Innovation

The Eco-Tech Innovation Hubs pillar focuses on bringing accessible digital innovation and climate technologies directly into communities. Technology is rapidly transforming global development, yet many climate-vulnerable communities remain excluded from its benefits. SOEA addresses this gap by co-designing community-based innovation hubs that provide access to digital tools, climate data platforms, and early warning systems. These hubs are designed as collaborative spaces where communities, youth innovators, and local leaders can interact with technology that supports climate adaptation and economic development. Through mobile applications, data tools, and early warning systems, communities gain the ability to anticipate climate shocks, improve decision-making, and strengthen resilience. The hubs will be piloted in selected counties before being refined and replicated across additional regions. Over time, they will evolve into locally managed centres of innovation where communities can continue expanding digital solutions that support climate resilience, enterprise development, and knowledge sharing.

Coming Soon — SOEA Eco Tech innovation

Register your community for the pilot.

Community members at the IWD 2026 gathering in Mathare, Nairobi
Pillar 03

Eco-Storytelling and Advocacy for Impact

At SOEA, storytelling is our infrastructure for transformation. The Eco-Storytelling and Advocacy pillar focuses on documenting and amplifying the climate innovations already emerging within African communities. Too often, Africa is portrayed primarily through narratives of vulnerability. We believe a different story must be told, one that highlights Africa as a source of climate leadership, innovation, and practical solutions. Through community-led storytelling, documentary narratives, digital media, and knowledge products, SOEA captures real experiences from communities working at the frontlines of climate change. These stories are translated into advocacy tools that inform policy discussions, inspire replication, and attract partnerships and investment. By amplifying local voices and showcasing successful models, storytelling becomes a powerful engine for scaling solutions across regions and ensuring that community-driven innovations influence broader climate action.

Read our field stories →
Thematic Areas of Focus

Six areas of focused work.

Each area connects to one or more of the three pillars. All six share a cross-cutting commitment to storytelling and community-led advocacy.

Partner on a Program
Seedling being planted in Kenya showing agroforestry work
ASAL Communities · Kenya
Building food security through community-led climate adaptation.
01
Eco-Development

Climate-Smart Agriculture & Agroforestry

Agriculture remains the backbone of livelihoods across Africa’s ASAL regions, yet climate variability continues to threaten productivity and food security. In Kenya alone, nearly 80% of land is classified as arid or semi-arid, making farming highly vulnerable to drought and rainfall variability. SOEA promotes regenerative agricultural practices, agroforestry systems, and climate-resilient farming models that restore soil health while increasing food security and farmer income. By combining ecological restoration with climate-smart technologies and digital advisory tools, we support farmers in adapting to changing climate conditions. Through community-led pilot programs, we aim to strengthen sustainable food production systems that can be replicated across climate-vulnerable landscapes.

02
Eco-Development

Just Energy Transitions

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 600 million people still lack access to reliable electricity, and millions of households rely on firewood and charcoal for cooking. This energy gap contributes to environmental degradation, health risks, and time poverty, particularly for women and girls. SOEA supports the transition toward decentralized renewable energy solutions, including solar technologies and clean cooking systems that reduce reliance on unsustainable fuel sources. Through integrating energy access into climate resilience programs, we aim to reduce environmental pressure while unlocking new economic opportunities for communities.

03
Eco-Tech Innovation

Digital Innovation, Data and Early Warning Systems

Climate-vulnerable communities often lack access to timely climate information and early warning systems that could help them anticipate environmental shocks. Through the Eco-Tech Innovation Hubs, SOEA works to expand access to climate data tools, mobile advisory platforms, and early warning technologies that support better decision-making for farmers, pastoralists, and coastal communities. By combining digital infrastructure with community training and local knowledge, we aim to shift climate response systems from reactive crisis management toward proactive preparedness.

04
Eco-Development

Blue Economy and Coastal Resilience

Africa’s coastal ecosystems hold immense economic and ecological value, yet they remain under-leveraged and increasingly threatened by climate change, coastal erosion, and unsustainable resource use. In Kenya’s coastal counties such as Kilifi, Kwale, and Mombasa, many communities depend on fisheries and marine resources for their livelihoods. However, climate pressures and environmental degradation continue to threaten these ecosystems. SOEA supports sustainable coastal livelihoods, marine conservation initiatives, and community-driven adaptation strategies that protect both ecosystems and economic opportunities. Our long-term vision is to strengthen coastal resilience while positioning Africa’s blue economy as a driver of sustainable development.

05
Eco-Development

Rural to Urban Sustainable Development

Rapid urbanization is transforming many African cities, often creating environmental pressures while weakening rural economic systems. SOEA promotes circular economy models and green enterprise development that strengthen connections between rural and urban economies. Through innovation hubs, youth entrepreneurship programs, and sustainable value chains, we support new pathways for climate-aligned economic development. We believe bridging rural innovation with urban markets, will create sustainable economic systems that reduce environmental impact while increasing opportunities for youth and local enterprises.

06
Cross-Cutting

Gender Responsive Climate-Resilience

Climate change does not affect all communities equally. Women, youth, and persons with disabilities often face disproportionate barriers to resources, decision-making power, and climate adaptation tools. In many rural regions, women are responsible for food production, water collection, and household energy, making them particularly vulnerable to climate disruptions. SOEA integrates gender-responsive approaches across all programs to ensure inclusive participation in climate solutions. Through skills development, leadership opportunities, and access to innovation hubs, we support women and marginalized groups in becoming leaders of community-driven climate action.

Overarching Focus

Storytelling and Advocacy for Impact

This is not a separate program. It runs through every thematic area. We amplify community voices, document local innovations, and use narrative to drive behavioural change and systems transformation. Every initiative creates impact, and we make sure that impact gets told.

Read our field stories →
Stories and Impact

These programs, in practice.

What the work looks like on the ground. Each story below maps directly to one of the six thematic areas above.

All Stories
Thematic Area 05
March 3, 2026 · Dandora, Nairobi
Dignity and Safety for Dandora's Waste Pickers

41 waste pickers making the case for a community-managed circular economy at Nairobi's largest dumpsite. Their ask: give us the opportunity to manage what we built.

Read the story →
Thematic Area 05
March 8, 2026 · Mathare, Nairobi
IWD 2026

We celebrated Women’s Day by honoring, empowering, and connecting! The event featured inspiring talks, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities that highlighted women’s achievements and explored pathways for growth and leadership. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate women and engage in meaningful conversations!.

Read the story →

Partner on a program.

We are looking for funders, volunteers, researchers, and community partners across all six thematic areas.

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