Nairobi-based clean cooking pioneer BURN has secured a USD 5 million investment from the EU-funded Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI) to expand its electric cooking solutions across Kenya.
The funding was announced 14 May 2025 and is managed by EDFI Management Company.
This will enable over 100,000 Kenyan households to transition from polluting fuels to clean, electric cooking using BURN’s innovative ECOA Induction Cooker (ECOA IDC).
The ECOA IDC is a locally designed, Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled appliance that reduces household energy costs by 40–60% while generating carbon credits. Over its product lifetime, it is expected to eliminate approximately 1.4 million tons of CO₂ emissions.
This aligns with the European Union’s goals to promote clean energy access, strengthen climate resilience, and support local manufacturing in emerging markets.
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Despite access to electricity for over 600 million Africans, a significant number continue to cook with charcoal, firewood, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), often spending around $12 weekly.
The high upfront cost of electric cooking appliances is a key barrier to adoption. BURN addresses this challenge with a Pay As You Cook (PAYC) model, which allows users to make small, flexible payments via mobile money through the ECOA Mobile App.
Households can achieve full ownership of the cooker within a year, making clean cooking financially accessible for low-income families.
BURN’s overall impact saw the company being chosen as the #2 Most Innovative Company 2025 in Europe, Middle East and Africa by Fast Company.
With Kenya’s grid being over 90% renewable, it’s critical we bridge the gap between energy access and energy use. This investment will help transition more than 100,000 households to clean cooking and demonstrates that electric cooking—designed and built in Africa—can be the future of affordable, scalable energy access.
~ Peter Scott, Founder and CEO of BURN
BURN’s model not only offers environmental benefits but also supports local economies. The company employs over 3,000 people across 11 African countries and is one of the few carbon project developers managing the entire carbon credit value chain—from project design to monitoring and credit issuance.
To date, BURN has distributed more than 5 million clean cookstoves, impacting over 25 million lives and preventing 26 million tons of CO₂ emissions.
Rodrigo Madrazo, CEO of EDFI Management Company, emphasized the investment’s broader significance: “Access to clean and affordable cooking solutions is essential for sustainable development. Our support for BURN reflects our commitment to accelerating the green transition, improving health outcomes, protecting forests, and creating jobs throughout the manufacturing and distribution value chain.”
The ElectriFI facility is part of a broader initiative supported by the European Union, USAID’s Power Africa, the Government of Sweden, and the Government of Italy, designed to catalyze private-sector innovation in sustainable energy. With over 40,000 ECOA cookers already deployed across East and West Africa, BURN is poised to scale its impact further—proving that Africa-led solutions can transform the continent’s energy future.
