Will Your Business Survive When Customers Start Asking for Proof?

In most emerging markets, “sustainability” has been designed for big exporters, banks and multinationals. Everyone else – the micro, small and medium businesses that actually employ people and move the economy – is basically left out but more and more customers are asking for proofs. In this episode, Luke Hayman, Executive Director of Sustainable Kenya, explains how his team is trying to flip that script with an Africa-first sustainability infrastructure. Instead of 40-page ESG questionnaires in foreign jargon, they use: Short, contextualised assessments in English and Swahili AI to analyse answers, documents and even voice notes Clear scorecards plus realistic next steps, not just a vanity score A growing public directory of businesses that can actually prove what they claim We talk about why sustainability is fast becoming a language of credibility in Kenya: if you can show evidence, you unlock customers, finance and partnerships; if you cannot, you are increasingly invisible. Luke also shares what Kenyan consumers are really saying about “sustainable products”, why price and trust still block action, and how shared data could stop every investor inventing their own ESG scoring system. If you are tired of ESG theatre and want to see what practical, bottom-up sustainability looks like, this conversation is for you.