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Make household cooking more affordable and eco-friendly. This is the challenge that a start-up in Kenya has set itself. 75% of households still cook with charcoal or wood fire to the detriment of their health. To reverse the trend, KOKO Networks has developed a bioethanol, made from molasses, a residue from the manufacture of sugar. It is used with a two-burner stove, also developed by the brand.
From our correspondent in Nairobi,
Two blue distributors sit enthroned at the entrance to this small grocery store in a suburb of Nairobi. They resemble those of banks, but instead of banknotes, they dispense bioethanol. ” I started with a distributor to introduce the concept to the neighborhood and the locals adopted it, explains Robert Kimathi, store manager. It quickly became unmanageable because of the queues, especially at the end of the day when people came home from work. I had no other option but to take a second one. I’m even thinking of asking for a third one, as the number of customers continues to increase. »
The start-up is present in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. In these three towns in Kenya, customers can refill their water bottles through a network of more than 1,000 vending machines. Charity Wanjiru Karanja, a regular at the store, came to fill her canister. ” To start, I enter my pin code, then I click on buy fuel. Here, it starts to flow, we will see the liquid rise in the container. »
At home, Charity now swears only by the cook KOKO. This fruit and vegetable seller cannot see herself backtracking. In his kitchen, the old stoves are gathering dust. ” I started with this one, paraffin, but had to cook outside because of the smell and the smoke coming out. This one is charcoal, you also have to cook outside with it. And you have to constantly wash your hands if you use it without gloves and put charcoal back in. Then I switched to gas. But it’s expensive. A tank is $12. Me, I sell oranges, bananas, I earn 25 cents here, 25 cents there. To get $12 it takes time. So it’s better to use KOKO. »
Economical and ecological
The KOKO cooker costs $15. Bioethanol, on the other hand, sells for 75 cents per litre, but customers can be satisfied with buying fuel for 25 cents. Having an ecological and accessible product was the bet of KOKO Networks.
« We considered the problems that people face when cooking with charcoal and wood fire, and the impact this has on their health, says Sophie Odupoy, public affairs officer at the start-up. There are a lot of carbon emissions released into the air. Residents breathe in these emissions and end up with lung problems ». According to authorities, 23,000 Kenyans died from household pollution in 2020.
« There are also environmental consequences, including deforestation, adds Sophie Odupoy. So the reasoning was that there has to be a better solution, which is clean, affordable and convenient.. Bioethanol is now used by more than 490,000 households in Kenya. KOKO networks operates in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, with a network of over 1,000 ATMs. The start-up does not intend to stop there, it plans to set up in the course of the month in Nakuru, then in Rwanda in January 2023.