BURN, Kenya’s clean cooking appliance manufacturer, distributor, and carbon project developer, has secured $15 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund the distribution of BURN’s ECOA Electric Induction cooker to households across the East African region and launch a Pay-As-You-Cook payment offering.
The US$15 million debt investment from EIB Global, announced on the margins of the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Washington, will enable the appliances to be offered via BURN’s Pay-As-You-Cook payment offering. An affordable financing for low-income households who are unable to afford full upfront payments typically required for clean electric cooking appliances.
In a statement to TechMoran, EIB Group President, Nadia Calviño said, “The investment that we have agreed today is not just about improving lives, but saving them as well. With relatively simple technology for clean cooking, we will strengthen communities, especially by protecting the health of women, and their families.”
The pay-go solution is expected to significantly reduce indoor air pollution in homes across the world – a problem that currently causes 4 million premature deaths a year, and disproportionally affects the health of women living in developing countries. The funding will also help expand BURN’s affordable clean cooking to more than a million households in Africa.
Under EIB’s Global Gateway Initiative, the women empowerment project has been qualified as a gender lens investment by the 2X Challenge. The financing support to BURN is through the Desiree Investment Envelope under the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Impact Finance Envelope (“IFE”).
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, BURN operates in 9 countries and employs over 3,500 people, with a mission to revolutionize the clean cooking sector and provide sustainable cooking solutions across the continent.
BURN’s electric cooking appliances generate high-integrity carbon credits by using integrated cellular-enabled IoT technology which allows for effective, real-time and end-to-end monitoring of energy usage. These electric appliances reduce ~2.5 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, and contribute to EIB’s climate action, gender equality, and economic development objectives.
To date, BURN has distributed over 5 million clean cookstoves across Africa, transforming the lives of 25 million people and preventing 26 million tons of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.
“BURN has already brought our unique PAYC electric cooking solution to thousands of households in Kenya and Tanzania that were previously relying on traditional charcoal stoves. This investment by EIB will help us transition over a million low-income households to cooking with electricity, allowing them to cook on grids that are 80-95% powered by renewable energy.” said Peter Scott, Founder and CEO of BURN.
The ECOA Induction cooker is bundled with a high-quality, 3-piece stainless steel induction cookware set, fully manufactured in Kenya. The appliances reduce indoor air pollution by 100%, decrease cooking time by 70%, and save households money on cooking fuels.