Slashing CO2Cleaning up Africa’s cookstoves.
Big Picture
Over 3 billion people (40% of the world population) rely on dirty fuels like charcoal for cooking food and heating water. Usually burned indoors, these fuels produce toxic fumes that lead to 4.3m premature deaths each year. When factoring in deforestation from harvesting the fuels, dirty cooking accounts for 2-5% of global CO₂ emissions, and is quickly eroding some of the world’s most critical forests.
How it Works
EcoSafi offers a cleaner, cheaper, faster cooking experience with wood pellets. Their first market is Kenya, where they give away premium cookstoves for free or close to it, while selling subscriptions to pellets. The pellets made from domestic bagasse waste allows them to sell fuel for 50-60% the cost of charcoal, reducing out of pocket costs from day one and slashing CO₂ pollution 95-97%.
Unfair Advantage
It’s simple: they sell a radically improved cooking experience for up to 50% less than what people pay today, while generating large and recurring subscription revenue. The model is enabled by simple technology that allows EcoSafi to ensure their fuel is burning in the stoves. Because they are able to track fuel consumption, they are even able to sell carbon credits, which is pure upside.
09
Tons of CO₂e
avoided annually per household
TOM PRICE CEO & CO-FOUNDER
Tom has 30+ years experience in scaling sustainable solutions, most recently as Director of Strategy for cookstove company Inyenyeri.
JORDYAN CORCORAN COO & CO-FOUNDER
Jordyan was the Head of Growth and Strategy at Nairobi-based 4G Capital and at InfraCo Africa.
XAVIER HELGESEN CHAIRMAN & CO-FOUNDER
Xavier is the founding CEO of Zola Electric, a distributed clean energy company in Africa with more than one million customers.
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Africa’s Charcoal Economy Is Cooking. The Trees Are Paying.
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