For generations, many families in Africa have cooked over smoky charcoal fires, a daily ritual that fills homes with toxic fumes, degrades forests, and drains household incomes.
However thanks to the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), a shift is occurring, bringing affordable electric cooking to low-income households in a bold bid to transform their lives.
Across Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, a revolution is taking place in millions of kitchens, thanks to the Burn Electric Cooking Expansion Program (BEEP), a program that makes clean cooking appliances more affordable and accessible.
With the backing of Sh516.59 million ($4 million) reimbursable grant from SEFA, BEEP looks to deploy 115,000 Burn ECOA Electric Induction Cookers to provide clean cooking solutions for low-income, grid-connected households currently relying on charcoal.
The program will be implemented by Burn, a Kenya-based clean cookstove company and carbon developer with operations in over 10 African countries. It will finance cookstoves upfront and offset costs through carbon credit revenues. This way it creates an affordable pathway to clean cooking.
The model cleverly pairs climate finance with installment payment schemes, removing the steep upfront price that typically prevents widespread adoption. BEEP will be capitalized through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which will not only be backed by SEFA’s grant but by an additional Sh129.15 million ($1 million) in equity from Burn Manufacturing Company.
This SPV will partner with Burn to manage sales, distribution, and servicing of the cookers. According to Dr. Daniel Schroth, Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the African Development Bank Group, the model is a first for the group.
“This marks the Bank’s first carbon finance transaction of its kind, with SEFA playing a critical role in mitigating carbon market risks and enhancing the Program’s financial sustainability,” he said.
BEEP aligns with SEFA’s thematic area on Energy Efficiency, catalysing private sector investments in efficient appliances and promoting scale-up of clean cooking technologies.
It also supports the Mission 300 Initiative and the Bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa, which aim to deliver universal energy access through low-carbon solutions.
In accordance to Peter Scott, Founder and CEO, BURN, this milestone enables the company to rapidly scale its IoT-enabled induction stove across Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, providing low-income households with a zero-emission, digitally monitored alternative to charcoal and wood.
“We are honored to receive this catalytic investment from the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa—their first-ever investment in carbon projects focused on electric cooking. By integrating cutting-edge technology, carbon financing, and mobile-enabled Pay-As-You-Cook models, we are demonstrating that electric cooking can be clean, affordable, and scalable across the continent,” he added.
