$10bn Clean Cookstoves Initiative Promises Jobs, Women Empowerment

As concerns persist over delivery, financing, and nationwide adoption, stakeholders in the clean energy sector have unveiled a clean cooking initiative valued at $10 billion to distribute 80 million cookstoves across Africa while creating jobs and empowering women.

Speaking at a project implementation event in Lagos, president and croup chief executive officer of GreenPlinth Africa, Dr Olawale Akinwumi, said the initiative was designed to address what he described as a widespread public health and environmental crisis affecting millions of households.

He noted that more than 950 million Africans lack access to clean cooking, with over 180 million Nigerians affected, stressing the urgency of decisive action to tackle the challenge.

Akinwumi emphasised that women and children bear the brunt of the crisis, describing their vulnerability as a daily reality in many homes.

According to him, the project seeks not only to improve access to clean and efficient cooking systems but also to uplift women economically.

“The 80 million clean cookstoves project is a transformative initiative that will combat the adverse health and environmental impacts associated with traditional cooking methods, such as indoor air pollution and deforestation,” he said.

The initiative includes the signing of a manufacturing agreement with Allgreen Energy NV for the production of 24 million cookstoves, with rollout expected to commence in July 2026. The  programme is backed by a proposed $10 billion investment expected within 18 months, raising expectations about its scale and economic impact.

Beyond environmental benefits, Akinwumi said the initiative would generate employment opportunities across the value chain while providing free clean cooking systems and fuel to women, positioning them for greater economic participation.

However, policy experts at the forum cautioned that large-scale distribution of free cookstoves has historically faced sustainability challenges, particularly in supply chains, user adoption, and long-term fuel availability.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Climate Change and Circular Economy, Mrs Titilayo Oshodi, said access to clean cooking extends beyond energy concerns to broader development issues.

She noted that the clean cooking crisis in Africa touches on equity, public health, climate justice, and economic transformation, underscoring the need for coordinated and sustainable solutions.

She highlighted findings from a pilot intervention in Makoko, Lagos, where improved cookstoves were tested in real household conditions over a seven-day period to assess viability and user acceptance.

Oshodi said, “Households recorded an average daily firewood consumption of 10 kilograms, while reliance on biomass reflects the complexity and deeply rooted nature of cooking behaviours.”

She explained that after introducing improved cookstoves, “Fuel consumption dropped dramatically from 10 kilograms of firewood per day to approximately 1.37 kilograms of briquettes, representing an efficiency improvement of over 85 percent.”

She, however, noted a behavioural shifts, stating, “Stove stacking reduced from 31.75 per cent in the baseline phase to just 3.23 percent during the intervention phase, showing that households largely depended on the improved cookstove.”

The SA emphasised that adoption is driven by visible benefits rather than policy enforcement. “Clean cooking adoption is not just a technical rollout; it is a social diffusion process. When communities see real, tangible improvements in health, cost, and convenience, adoption becomes organic,” she said.

She stressed that despite these gains, scaling such interventions across Nigeria and Africa would depend heavily on sustainable financing models, particularly through carbon markets and green investment frameworks.

“This is where green finance and carbon finance become central to the conversation, as emissions reductions from cleaner cooking systems could be monetised to attract investment and lower costs for end users,” she noted.