The African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) has launched an innovative, carbon-backed initiative that may reshape clean energy access in East and Southern Africa. Today, SEFA announced a US $4 million reimbursable grant to support the Burn Electric Cooking Expansion Program (BEEP), which will deploy 115,000 ECOA induction cookers to low-income, grid-connected households in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia.
This marks SEFA’s first-ever use of carbon-finance mechanisms to subsidize electric cooking. The plan is to finance induction stove roll-out upfront and recover costs by selling voluntary carbon credits generated through emission reductions—a model enabled through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that pools a US $5 million loan from Spark+ Africa, the SEFA grant, and Burn’s US $1 million equity commitment.
Burn, a Kenya-based manufacturer and carbon project developer, brings deep experience. It has already sold more than 4.5 million cookstoves across Africa, establishing Africa’s first carbon-credit futures tied to cookstoves. Under BEEP, users will choose an IoT-enabled Burn ECOA induction cooker via a mobile-enabled Pay-As-You-Cook model, which eliminates upfront costs and ensures gradual ownership.
Health, environment, and economy are central to BEEP’s mission. By replacing charcoal, the program targets reductions in indoor air pollution—responsible for more than 600,000 deaths annually in Africa—and in widespread deforestation. At the same time, it fosters local supply chains, job creation, and strengthens grid-based clean cooking markets.
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Dr. Daniel Schroth, Director of Renewable Energy at the AfDB, emphasised SEFA’s role in pioneering Africa’s first carbon-financed electric-cooking initiative: “…mitigating carbon market risks and enhancing the Program’s financial sustainability”. The program aligns with SEFA’s wider Energy Efficiency mandate and supports the AfDB’s Mission 300 and New Deal on Energy for Africa, which aim for universal energy access by 2030.
Pan-African clean energy advocates say this could mark a turning point. Kenya has already seen US $5 million investment from ElectriFI for BURN’s expansion, reaching over 100,000 households and preventing 1.4 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. Moreover, a recent US $80 million package from the Trade & Development Bank will drive cookstove distribution into Mozambique, DRC, and Zambia—aligning with BEEP’s regional focus.
Across Africa, more than 600 million people have electricity but cook with polluting fuels, spending up to US $12 weekly on charcoal and LPG. Scaling electric cooking can deliver cost savings of 40–60%, slash CO₂ emissions, reduce deforestation, and improve household health.
Yet implementation will present challenges. Success depends on grid stability, consumer financing literacy, transparent carbon-market verification, and robust infrastructure for device distribution and servicing.
Nevertheless, BEEP signals a rising model of integrated clean-tech, climate finance, and public-private partnership. If effectively scaled, it could redefine clean cooking across Africa and reinforce national and regional clean-energy agendas.
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