Kenya’s clean cooking ambitions have suffered a major setback following the collapse of Koko Networks, one of the country’s most prominent bioethanol distribution startups. The company and its subsidiary, Koko Networks Global Services (Kenya) Limited, have been placed under administration, days after operations across Kenya effectively ground to a halt.
Professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has taken control of the business, with partners Muniu Thoithi and George Weru appointed as joint administrators on February 1, 2026, under Kenya’s Insolvency Act of 2015. From that date, control of Koko’s assets, operations, and strategic decisions shifted away from management to the administrators.
According to the statutory notice, the primary objective of the administration process is to assess whether the business, or parts of it, can be rescued as a going concern or whether a better outcome for creditors can be achieved than through outright liquidation. Creditors have been given 14 days to submit claims as administrators establish the full scale of liabilities facing the company.
By the time PwC stepped in, the collapse was already visible. On January 31, more than 700 employees were laid off as fuel distribution slowed and, in many areas, stopped entirely. Customers in low-income neighbourhoods—many of whom relied on Koko’s ethanol refills for daily cooking—were left without supply, receiving notification of the shutdown via a brief text message.
At its peak, Koko operated one of Africa’s largest clean cooking distribution systems, serving an estimated 1.3 to 1.5 million households through about 3,000 automated fuel dispensers in Kenya and Rwanda. The company positioned itself as a low-cost alternative to charcoal and kerosene, using digitally enabled cookstoves linked to smart fuel points to deliver ethanol at subsidised prices.
The root of Koko’s failure lies in a business model heavily dependent on carbon credits. The company sold two-burner smart stoves at heavily subsidised prices and kept fuel costs low, betting that revenues from international carbon markets—earned by households switching to cleaner cooking—would offset operating losses. Investors reportedly tied more than $300 million in equity, debt, and guarantees to this assumption.
That revenue never materialised. Industry sources say Koko spent months seeking government approval to sell carbon credits internationally, only for the application to be rejected at a late stage. Without carbon income, the economics collapsed almost overnight.
Regulatory pressures had been mounting even before the final setback. In April 2024, Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority suspended bioethanol imports, forcing Koko to rely on more expensive local supply. Logistics challenges, tighter margins, and recurring fuel shortages followed, further weakening the business.
Despite backing from major institutions—including Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, Verod-Kepple, Mirova, Rand Merchant Bank, and the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency—the company was unable to weather the regulatory and financial shock.
Koko Networks was founded in 2014 with the mission of transforming clean cooking in Africa by replacing charcoal and kerosene with affordable bioethanol. The founders designed a technology-driven model combining smart cookstoves, digitally tracked fuel canisters, and automated ethanol dispensing machines installed in neighbourhood shops.
Kenya became Koko’s primary market, where the company rapidly scaled a capital-intensive distribution network across major urban centres. At its peak, Koko served an estimated 1.3–1.5 million households through about 3,000 fuel dispensers, making it one of Africa’s largest clean-cooking platforms. Expansion into Rwanda followed but was later paused.
Koko’s exit raises broader questions about the sustainability of climate-focused startups in Africa, particularly those reliant on carbon markets amid shifting regulatory frameworks. Energy analysts warn the shutdown could push some households back to charcoal and kerosene, potentially reversing gains in public health and emissions reduction.
