BURN, recognized globally as the foremost manufacturer and distributor of clean cooking appliances and a leading developer of carbon projects, has successfully secured a significant investment of US$15 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
This substantial investment was officially announced during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings held in Washington. The funding is set to significantly boost BURN’s initiatives to produce and distribute its IoT-enabled ECOA electric cooking appliances to more than 1 million households across East Africa.
The ECOA Induction Cooker (IDC) is a cutting-edge appliance featuring the innovative Pay As You Cook (PAYC) technology. This technology is seamlessly integrated with mobile money payment systems and the ECOA Mobile App, enabling users to make small payments via their mobile phones. This system allows users to gradually pay for their cooking devices through daily or weekly installments, achieving full ownership within a year. Additionally, the ECOA IDC comes with a premium 3-piece stainless steel induction cookware set, which is entirely manufactured in Kenya.
One of the standout features of the ECOA IDC is its ability to generate high-integrity carbon credits. This is achieved through its integrated cellular-enabled IoT technology, which facilitates real-time monitoring of energy usage. Each ECOA IDC is capable of reducing approximately 2.5 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, thereby contributing to EIB’s objectives of climate action, gender equality, and economic development.
Nadia Calviño, President of the EIB Group, commented on the investment, stating:
The investment we have agreed upon today is focused on financing development through innovation, which will fortify communities by safeguarding the health of women and their families. It will also positively impact the climate by reducing carbon emissions. Supporting transformative projects like BURN’s expansion of affordable clean cooking solutions to over a million households in Africa aligns perfectly with the European Union’s Global Gateway Initiative.
Peter Scott, Founder and CEO of BURN, expressed his enthusiasm, saying;
BURN has already introduced our unique PAYC electric cooking solution to thousands of households in Kenya and Tanzania, which previously depended on traditional charcoal stoves. This investment from EIB will enable us to transition over a million low-income households to electric cooking, utilizing grids that are 80-95% powered by renewable energy.
The efficiency, safety, and overall benefits of BURN’s clean cooking appliances have been independently validated through a peer-reviewed Randomized Control Trial (RCT) conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago. The study, which focused on BURN’s cookstoves, confirmed BURN’s usage and consumption measurements. It revealed a fuel savings of 39% compared to the baseline, resulting in annual savings of US$119 per family, and each cookstove reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 3.5 tons per year.
The study, which was peer-reviewed and published in The American Economic Review (AER), found these savings to be robust for three years, with 98% of the stoves still in use. To date, BURN has distributed over 5 million clean cookstoves across Africa, positively impacting the lives of over 25 million people and preventing 26 million tons of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere.
