Gasmonkey

About 3 billion people cook using polluting open fires. Close to 4 million people die prematurely from illness attributed to household air pollution. More than 180 million (90%) people from Nigeria use polluting open fires for cooking. Nigerian children made up the highest number of death due to pneumonia caused by indoor air pollution (reported by WHO and UNICEF) because 45 percent of the populations are poor and cannot afford liquified petroleum gas (LPG). Gasmonkey has started a movement that enables people to convert to cleaner cooking gas without breaking the bank. Thanks to our IoT smart meter and cylinder exchange, Users can purchase clean gas (liquefied petroleum gas) in micro-unit for as little as $0.5.

Household air pollution from pollutants such as dirty cooking fuels is a threat to our climate. It is the single most important adverse environmental health risk factor. Yet, less than 10% of Nigerians use LPG of about 210 million people living in the country.  More than 47% of Nigerians living in poverty. These Low-income earners cannot afford Liquified petroleum gas (LPG). Many others are concerned about safety. More so because the standard use of LPG in the country requires people to purchase their LPG cylinders and refill them from anywhere, including many unlicensed retailers. More than 90% of existing cylinders in Nigeria are either expired or substandard (according to the office of the Vice President of Nigeria), causing frequent fire outbreaks from gas.

Gasmonkey IoT smart meter provides users access to a pay-as-you-go system where they can purchase LPG for as low as $0.5 from our mobile app or by USSD transaction. Our smart meter measures customer's usage and shot gas flow when gas credit is exhausted. User does not need to purchase LPG cylinder as they will use Gasmonkey's cylinders. We ensure safe use of gas and refill our cylinders/tank when users are running low.

Women and children are mostly affected by the impact of household air pollution as seen in the WHO report. More than 180 million people are currently using dirty cooking methods. Our study finds that most people are willing to convert to gas (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health) 

The low usage rate of clean cooking gas is attributed to the cost of converting to clean gas. Using our pay-as-you-go LPG model backed by our IoT smart meters, the low-income homes can easily convert to Liquified petroleum gas without bearing the high conversion cost or risk of using bad LPG tanks. More than 47% of Nigerians living in poverty.

We have received the first batch of 200 units of LPG cylinders, and will soon start the installation of our cylinders to customers on our waiting lists.

We have launched our IOS and Android mobile applications which enables LPG users to order gas refills and be served by authorized retailers close to them. Since its launch two months ago, we fulfill at least one refill request each day. We are currently integrating our IoT meter's functions into our mobile application to allow users to purchase gas units from the app and monitor their usage.

The use of Liquified Petroleum Gas for cooking is not new in Nigeria. But the available system requires users to purchase an expensive LPG cylinder and refill it mostly from untrusted/unlicensed sources. The system excludes 90 % of the population (mostly low-income earners who cannot afford LPG) and increases the gas explosion risks due to mishandling and expired cylinders. Our solution will change the entire industry and break the barriers holding 180 million people back from using clean cooking gas. Running out of gas in the middle of cooking is a very relatable experience for many people using gas. Refilling is a big hassle for all LPG users in Nigeria. We introduces a gas that never runs out because we know when a user is running low, and we plan a refill ahead of time.

We are currently serving about 100 households. We will increase this number to 5000 households in one year. In 5 years, we will be serving more than 5 million households. We have more than 90 million ready families to serve. The field is large.

We will measure our impact by 

1. the number of subscribers we have on our platform and the annual LPG consumption report from our sales.
2. Increasing the proportion of population with primary reliance on Liquified Petroleum Gas- report by WHO Household Energy Database.

Decrease in the number of childhood pneumonia cases and premature deaths.

National Bureau of Statistics reported an annual LPG consumption in 2020 to be 1 million metric tons. We will measure our progress by increases in LPG consumption share.

Five of our staff work full time and six are contractors.

I grew up in an environment where wood is the popular and most used cooking fuel. A few years later, I purchased LPG kits for my parents from my first savings as an adult. More than anyone else, I understand the condition of those affected by the problem we are solving. I worked as computer hardware maintenance for Life-engineering, co-founded "Creative Concept," a growth and incubation hub for talents where I trained students in hardware maintenance and graphics designs. I founded Fresh, a unified online food marketplace connecting farmers to consumers. Eliminating chains of intermediaries to lower food costs and improve revenue for farmers. A university-trained business manager with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

We have Clara Apeve, our legal and financial adviser. Legal practitioner and Business developer. Galaxy of experience in the start-up ecosystems.

Ifeanyi Onu, business development manager with 8 years experience, 4 years at customers relationship management role with a commercial bank, and 4 sales and marketing.

Blessing Chukwu, an experience Customer relationship manager and Sales specialist. Three years with a multinational consumer electronics company as a customer specialist. Founder and CEO of Bodi Goal.

INCLUSION: Our delivery drivers sit with the team at all meetings because we believe the experience and contribution of everyone in our team is a precious resource. Our brainstorming section usually begins with hearing how everyone on our team deals or will deal with the challenge to discuss. 

Growth: We have prepared a growth runway for everyone on the team. I frequently suggest training and courses for my team members, and I also plan to add a training allowance to employee benefits.

Gender Equility and diversity: Our five-person team consists of three males and two females from different tribes and religions. Our software engineers are from different ethnic backgrounds and races.

Funds from Solve will be used to increase the number of LPG CYLINDERS and SMART-METERS in our fleet to convert more low-income households from dirty cooking fuel to Clean Cooking Fuel.

Our young team looks to benefit from the experience and mentorship of members and partners of Solve.

We have just started our journey to raising funds from investors. While we understand our industry well enough, we barely have any experience with investors. We will be glad to be led through practices that will improve our chances with investors.

Because we are bringing a new business model to our local LPG industry, we can use every strategic guidance and business development suggestion. We want to learn.

We are very open to opportunities and suggestions.

More women in the rural areas who will benefit from our solutions will be introduced to an IoT device and the benefits of technology such as the IoT. It will be their first experience with technology. Our education sections planned for the low-income households are focused on how women and children will have an equal opportunity to do great things without being stopped by the health implications of dirty cooking fuels. We are exclusively catering for women and girlchild because they are more likely in the kitchen due to local cultures in Africa.

We qualify for this prize because the problem we are solving affects women and children the most.

We will use the prize to expound our capacity to reach more women cooking with dirty cooking fuels.

Our smart meter is built with IoT technology which allows a measure of Artificial intelligence. Our smart meter can detect when a user is running low on meter credit and alerts the user. It then shut the LPG flow to the user if the meter credit unit is exhausted.

We will increase our LPG cylinders and IoT smart meters to clean up more households from dirty cooking fuel.

Seventeen percent of the world's forests are found in Africa. The forests are quickly disappearing due to the high demand for wood to be used as fuel for cooking. Gasmonkey uses innovative IoT technology to resolve the impact of deforestation due to the use of wood as cooking fuel, protecting the climate and environment, empowering women, and helping consumers save time and money.