The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Building Monetary institution (AfDB), is tackling charcoal dependence in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia with a $4 million reimbursable grant. This grant will fund the Burn Electrical Cooking Expansion Program (BEEP), deploying 115,000 Burn ECOA Electrical Induction Cookers to present neat cooking solutions for low-income, grid-connected households in the intervening time counting on charcoal.
Burn, a Kenya-primarily based neat cookstove company and carbon developer with operations in over 10 African international locations, will put in power BEEP. This program makes neat cooking appliances extra inexpensive and accessible by prefinancing induction cookers and recuperating costs thru carbon credit sales in the voluntary market. This innovative model combines carbon-backed subsidies with pay-as-you-lumber fee plans, seriously lowering upfront costs for discontinuance-users.
Capitalised thru a Particular Reason Vehicle (SPV), the Program is funded by a $5 million senior loan from the Spark+ Africa Fund, a $4 million reimbursable grant from SEFA, and $1 million in equity from Burn Manufacturing Firm. This SPV will accomplice with Burn to care for watch over sales, distribution, and servicing of the cookers. The appliances will generate carbon credits, owned by the SPV, with revenues shared amongst investors.
Dr. Daniel Schroth, Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Effectivity on the African Building Monetary institution Neighborhood, acknowledged, “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.”
The program aligns with SEFA’s thematic condo on Energy Effectivity, catalysing non-public sector investments in efficient appliances and promoting scale-up of neat cooking technologies. It also helps the Mission 300 Initiative and the Monetary institution’s Fresh Deal on Energy for Africa, which neutral to express universal power procure accurate of entry to thru low-carbon solutions.
“We are honoured 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. This milestone enables BURN to rapidly scale our IoT-enabled induction stove across Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, providing low-income households with a zero-emission, digitally monitored alternative to charcoal and wood,” said Peter Scott, Founder and CEO, BURN. “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.”
As wisely as to environmental and health advantages, the program will stimulate job introduction and enhance native supply chains interior the three aim international locations, paving the model for a cleaner, extra prosperous future for communities all over Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia.
About SEFA
SEFA is a multi-donor Particular Fund that offers catalytic finance to unlock non-public sector investments in renewable power and power efficiency. SEFA presents technical support and concessional finance devices to get rid of market boundaries, label a extra sturdy pipeline of initiatives and give a lift to the probability-return profile of particular person investments. The Fund’s overarching aim is to contribute to universal procure accurate of entry to to inexpensive, official, sustainable, and standard power products and providers for all in Africa, in conserving with the Fresh Deal on Energy for Africa and the M300.
