24th February 2025
Zambia: Supamoto
Investing to scale fuel-efficient, clean cooking
Challenge
Photograph by Jason Mulikita
Over half of Zambia’s urban households rely on charcoal for their energy needs. As demand for fuelwood and charcoal has grown, Zambia has experienced some of the highest levels of deforestation seen on the continent, losing between 180,000 and 250,000 hectares of forest per year. Where fuelwood and charcoal are burnt from non-renewable sources, global greenhouse gases increase, which contribute to climate change. Scarcities due to overexploitation, coupled with stricter government regulation, are increasing the cost of firewood and charcoal and customers are looking for cleaner, more affordable alternatives.
Solution
Emerging Cooking Solutions (Supamoto) has developed a solution. The company’s stoves burn biomass pellets which are produced locally, from waste wood products. The utilisation of a waste product and fuel-efficient stoves significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions when compared to stoves powered by charcoal, while also providing a use for waste products such as wood offcuts and sawdust. PIDG and EDFI ElectriFi have invested to scale Supamoto’s offering in Zambia. The investment will enable Supamoto to upgrade its pellet production capacity and expand its logistics and distribution infrastructure to meet growing demand. The transaction will also enable the company to produce 14,800 new cookstoves which it is anticipated could benefit up to 74,000 people (based on average household size). With access to Supamoto’s efficient biomass stoves, households are expected to see a reduction in the weekly cost of fuel, as well as a reduction in the time taken to cook meals, a benefit which is expected to disproportionately impact women. The company will target heavy charcoal users in urban and peri-urban areas of Zambia, displacing charcoal use to deliver both health and environmental benefits.
Supamoto operates as a subscription-based utility, retaining ownership of the stoves and maintaining them, with customers committing to buying a minimum of 30kg of pellets per month. Results Based Financing from the Modern Cooking Facility Africa (MCFA) enables Supamoto to supply stoves to customers with minimal upfront cost.
The fourth-generation stoves are Internet-of-Things (IoT) enabled, allowing Supamoto to monitor actual fuel use, and to use that data to sell high-quality carbon credits on certified carbon markets under Article 6.2. The inclusion of carbon credits in Supamoto’s business model diversifies the company’s income and gives it some protection from currency exchange risks. The African Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) is seeking to substantially grow Africa’s participation in carbon markets, increasing the production of carbon credits to unlock income for development and boost green jobs. As Africa’s carbon markets grow, it is anticipated that the sale of carbon credits will replace MCFA’s grant funding, enabling the company to subsidise the upfront cost of the stoves. Thus, keeping the stoves affordable for customers on low incomes.
Once operating at scale, it is anticipated that Supamoto will attract further private sector investment to grow its business across sub-Saharan Africa.
Being developed by PIDG through InfraCo, EDFI ElectriFi and Emerging Cooking Solutions (Supamoto) with support from GET.Invest.
