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Burn Manufacturing Company

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Innovative electric induction cookstoves for bottom-of-the-pyramid households in Africa that save lives, reduce emissions, and protect forests.

Nairobi County, Kenya

KEN

For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models

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One billion people in sub-Saharan Africa rely on open fires or basic charcoal stoves, a number expected to reach 1.67 billion by 2050. In 2025, 690,000 people, mostly women and children, on whom the burden of cooking usually falls, will die due to the toxic smoke produced by cooking. Cooking with wood and charcoal also decimates African forests, since ~90% of trees cut down are used for fuel. Purchasing this fuel is expensive for low-income families, and burning it is devastating for the climate, producing 1.24 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions per year. Although ~70% of Africa’s urban population (~660 million people) has access to electricity, fewer than 5% use it for cooking. This is primarily due to cost concerns; many people incorrectly assume that cooking with electricity is expensive, and most families cannot afford the upfront cost of an electric cooker.

BURN’s iC is transforming the clean cooking sector by making zero emissions electric cooking accessible and affordable for Bottom-of-the-Pyramid (BoP) African households. The iC is a completely smoke-free alternative to charcoal stoves and open fires and represents the cleanest and most efficient cooking method for grid-connected households. BURN’s innovative “Pay as You Cook” (PAYC) financing model tackles the most common barrier to the widespread adoption of electric cooking – affordability – making the cooker accessible to households for whom the upfront cost would otherwise be prohibitive. With a $20 downpayment and manageable $1.50 - $2 weekly payments, families can start cooking immediately, owning the cooker outright within a year.

Thanks to its existing sales networks in six countries and local product assembly, BURN has the potential to scale rapidly, reaching 4 million households in the next five years. If rolled out to the 600 million people in Africa with access to electricity, the iC could eliminate indoor air pollution, dramatically improving health outcomes, saving families up to $240 million per week, and freeing millions of women and girls from time-intensive cooking activities. The iC cuts cooking time by 30-50% and makes firewood collection unnecessary. Electric cooking also gives women more time to pursue education and income-generating opportunities. The fully scaled iC would also reduce carbon emissions by ~3.3 billion tons each year, equivalent to 1.27 billion flights from London to Nairobi. It would preserve ~924 million tons of wood, making a considerable impact on the deforestation rate.