For millions of Kenyan households, cooking still begins with charcoal or firewood. More than eight million households use biomass, with around 53% relying on firewood and 10.8% on charcoal as their primary cooking fuel. Fewer than 1% of households cook mainly with electricity. This is despite Kenya’s high urban electrification rates and a national grid powered by more than 90% renewable energy. The continued reliance on solid fuels contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, household air pollution and pressure on forests, with an estimated 84,716 hectares of forest lost each year.

One of the barriers to changing this picture is simple: the upfront cost of an electric cooking appliance can be out of reach for lower-income households. The hereby presented Mitigation Activity is designed to help address that barrier. BURN will distribute 100,000 IoT-enabled ECOA Electric Induction Cookstoves (EICs) to urban and peri-urban households across Kenya. The locally designed stoves come with compatible stainless-steel cookware and are designed to displace the use of charcoal, firewood and LPG.

The programme combines the stove with a pay-as-you-cook (PAYGO) model, allowing households to make a small initial deposit and pay the remaining balance in weekly instalments. Carbon finance is central to making this model possible. Guaranteed ITMO purchase from the KliK Foundation helps de-risk the investment, allowing BURN to secure upfront capital and subsidise the stoves. Without carbon revenue, the programme would not be economically viable.

Technology also plays a central role. Real-time digital metering, PAYGO controls, and usage monitoring through BURN’s Nexus platform provide the IoT-based MRV backbone. This is complemented by Kitchen Performance Tests conducted in households to verify emission reductions.

The activity sits within Kenya’s conditional NDC and clean-cooking strategies, where electric cooking is identified as a prioritised but conditional pathway dependent on international finance. It is voluntary and is not part of a mandated NDC implementation package. Its implementation depends on the additional carbon finance provided through the KliK Foundation.

The benefits of the activity go beyond replacing one cooking technology with another and contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By making electric cooking more accessible, the programme has the potential to reduce household energy costs, improve the cooking environment, free up time and reduce pressure on Kenya’s forests while creating jobs around a growing clean-energy industry.

SDG 1: No Poverty –  Putting household savings first
For many households, the cost of cooking is a significant part of the monthly budget. For most meals, cooking with electricity costs less than cooking with charcoal, helping households reduce their fuel expenditure and keep more of their income. Through PAYGO, weekly savings can cover instalments, with households designed to be financially better off after repayment.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Cleaner kitchen air
Replacing biomass combustion with electricity means less smoke where families cook. The EIC reduces exposure to indoor air pollutants, eliminating PM2.5 and carbon monoxide, and helping to reduce associated respiratory and other health risks for women and children who can spend more time in and around the kitchen.

SDG 5:  Gender Equality – Giving time back
Cooking is more than preparing a meal — it can also mean hours spent sourcing, preparing and managing fuel. The EIC is estimated to save one hour per day compared with the baseline. That time can be redirected towards education, paid work, childcare or other priorities, helping ease the disproportionate unpaid domestic-work burden carried by women and girls.

SDG 7:  Affordable and Clean Energy – Bringing electric cooking within reach
 Access to electricity does not automatically mean access to electric cooking. This activity bridges that gap by bringing 100,000 households affordable, reliable and modern electric cooking, powered by Kenya’s predominantly renewable grid.

SDG 8:  Decent Work – Creating jobs
The transition to electric cooking creates opportunity beyond the household. The activity will support skilled and semi-skilled jobs across local manufacturing and assembly, quality control, logistics, sales, field operations and after-sales services, while scaling BURN’s factory in Ruiru, Nairobi, and its distribution network.

SDG 15:  Life on Land – Reducing pressure on Kenya’s forests
Every reduction in demand for charcoal and firewood can help ease pressure on forests. With Kenya estimated to lose approximately 84,720 hectares of forest each year, shifting households towards electric cooking provides another pathway to reduce reliance on forest-based fuels.