KOKO Networks

Last updated
KOKO Networks
IndustryCooking fuel
Cooking equipment
Founded2014
Area served
 Kenya
Rwanda
Key people
Greg Murray (CEO) [1]
Website kokonetworks.com

KOKO Networks is a cooking fuel and equipment company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It primarily provides bioethanol as cooking fuel to customers to replace charcoal fuel.

Contents

History

The company Koko was founded in 2014. [2] It soft-launched its ethanol cooking fuel product in Nairobi in mid-2017 and throughout 2018. [3] The product was publicly launched in July 2019 for Nairobi. [4] The company launched a retail platform aimed at small shops in December 2021 to distribute other products aside from bioethanol. [5]

By 2021, the company had opened locations in Mombasa. [5] It announced an expansion into Rwanda in 2022 in a partnership with the venture capital firm Dalberg Ventures. [6] In August 2023, the company claimed that it had passed 1 million households as customers. [7]

In 2026, Koko announced its closure, citing the Kenyan government's failure to authorize carbon credits and import permits for bioethanol made from molasses. [8] On 1 February 2026, Pricewaterhousecoopers took over Koko Network's operations, with PwC's Muniu Thoithi and George Weru being appointed joint administrators. [9]

Financing

As of August 2023, the company has spent over USD 100 million in subsidies for its customers, financed by international carbon markets. It has sold carbon credits in South Korea and stated its plans to do so in Singapore and Japan. [7] It also has a partnership to sell carbon credits with the South African Rand Merchant Bank, which had also invested in the company. [10] In March 2025, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency issued a 15-year political risk guarantee of USD 179.6 million for the company. [11] [12]

Operations

Koko supplies its bioethanol from imports and from sugarcane processing waste in a partnership with Vivo Energy, [4] while its stoves are manufactured in India. As of 2022, it sells a set of a cooker, fuel canister, and initial stock of bioethanol for approximately USD 15. [13] The bioethanol is sold from 300-liter filling stations resembling ATMs, typically located in dense neighborhoods. [14] [15] According to the Financial Times , the company operated 700 such machines in 2019. [16] The company claims to employ 1,800 people with operations in eight Kenyan cities in mid-2023. [17]

References

  1. ↑ "Energy firm Koko Networks unveils ethanol burners". Daily Nation . 28 June 2020. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  2. ↑ "Mizuho Bank and KOKO Networks establish strategic partnership in the field of carbon credits". Mizuho Financial Group. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Offering Clean Cooking Fuel To Low Income Households". Kenya Climate Innovation Center. 22 August 2018. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 Kedem, Shoshana (22 September 2019). "KOKO oil – clean, cheap and safe". New African . Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 Njanja, Annie (30 December 2021). "Tech-led biofuel startup Koko Networks launches new consumer goods business in Kenya". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "KOKO Expands Into Rwanda in Bid to Replace Charcoal With Ethanol". Bloomberg.com. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  7. 1 2 Wilson, Tom (15 August 2023). "Start-up taps carbon markets to boost clean cooking in Africa". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Shutdown of Kenya's Koko biofuel firm wipes out clean cooking options". AP News. 6 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  9. ↑ Mutua, John (5 February 2026). "PwC takes control of troubled clean energy start-up Koko Networks". Business Daily. Archived from the original on 5 February 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  10. ↑ "Rand Merchant Bank Expands African Carbon Business With Cookstove Company Deal". Bloomberg. 12 January 2024. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  11. ↑ "MIGA Fuels Clean Cooking Innovation in Kenya". Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  12. ↑ "MIGA issues $179.6m guarantee to back African clean-cooking initiative". Impact Investor. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  13. ↑ "Selling a Cleaner, Affordable Cooking Fuel for Kenyan Homes". Bloomberg.com. 1 November 2022. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Nairobi Startup Pushes Cleaner Home Cooking Fuel". VOA. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Njehia, Jackson (4 October 2021). "Nairobi's fuel dispensers replace charcoal, kerosene with biofuel". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  16. ↑ Wilson, Tom (1 November 2019). "Kenyan cooking start-up uses tech to cut costs and save lives". Financial Times . Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  17. ↑ Dietz, Charles (30 June 2023). "Cookstove carbon offset projects: a view from the ground with supplier KOKO Networks (PR Publication)". African Business. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
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