BURN Secures USD 5 Million from ElectriFI to Expand Electric Cooking in Kenya

BURN, aclean cookstove manufacturer and carbon project developer based in Africa, has received a USD 5 million boost from the Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI), a facility managed by EDFI Management Company and funded by the European Union. The funding is set to rapidly expand the distribution of BURN’s innovative ECOA Induction Cooker (ECOA IDC) across Kenya.

This move will enable more than 100,000 Kenyan households to access clean, electric cooking technologies – cutting down household fuel costs and preventing approximately 1.4 million tons of CO₂ emissions over the product’s lifetime.

Tackling the Cost Barrier to Electric Cooking

Despite the widespread availability of grid electricity in Kenya—with over 90% of the grid powered by renewable energy – millions of households still rely on charcoal, firewood, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking. This is largely due to the high upfront cost of electric appliances, a challenge BURN seeks to overcome through flexible financing.

The ECOA Induction Cooker is powered by BURN’s Pay As You Cook (PAYC) model, which integrates with mobile money systems and the ECOA mobile app. This allows users to make small, manageable payments for the cooker over time, ultimately gaining full ownership within a year.

According to BURN, this model can reduce household fuel bills by 40% to 60%, while simultaneously enabling the generation of carbon credits – offering both environmental and economic benefits to users and stakeholders.

A Strategic Boost for Local Manufacturing and Green Transition

The ElectriFI investment aligns with the EU’s broader goals of promoting clean energy, boosting local manufacturing, and fostering climate resilience. It also exemplifies a growing shift toward leveraging blended finance to unlock sustainable energy transitions in Africa.

Rodrigo Madrazo, CEO of EDFI Management Company, noted:

"Access to clean and affordable cooking solutions is essential for sustainable development. Through ElectriFI, we are proud to support BURN’s pioneering work that not only improves household health and reduces environmental degradation but also strengthens local economies by creating manufacturing and distribution jobs."

BURN’s Impact Across Africa

With over 5 million clean cookstoves already distributed, BURN claims to have improved the lives of over 25 million people across Africa while preventing an estimated 26 million tons of CO2 emissions. The ECOA IDC is already in over 40,000 homes across East and West Africa.

Peter Scott, Founder and CEO of BURN, emphasized:

“Kenya’s electricity grid is over 90% renewable—yet more than 15 million households still cook with polluting fuels. This investment helps close that gap. We’re proving that electric cooking—designed and built in Africa—can be the future of clean, affordable energy access at scale.”

The Bigger Picture

This investment underscores the critical role private companies like BURN play in Africa’s climate and energy transition. It also reflects growing international confidence in the power of African innovation to solve pressing environmental and public health issues.

As clean cooking gains momentum within global climate frameworks, initiatives like this could set the stage for large-scale transformations in how energy is accessed and used by millions across the continent.