Firms seal $10b deal for first 24m cookstoves
Greenplinth Africa and Allgreen Energy NV have signed a manufacturing agreement to deliver the first 24 million clean cookstoves in Nigeria. Stakeholders describe the deal as a breakthrough in financing
Greenplinth Africa and Allgreen Energy NV have signed a manufacturing agreement to deliver the first 24 million clean cookstoves in Nigeria.
Stakeholders describe the deal as a breakthrough in financing and scale for the country’s ambitious 80 million clean cookstoves initiative.
The deal, signed in Lagos, is backed by a $10 billion investment commitment from Allgreen and its partners, with the first batch of cookstoves to be delivered in July.
President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Greenplinth Africa, Olawale Akinwumi, said the agreement is a step from policy ambition to large-scale implementation, positioning Nigeria to tackle the clean cooking deficit affecting millions of households.
He said: “We signed a manufacturing agreement with Allgreen Energy NV for the first 24 million clean cookstoves.
“We are pleased to announce a $10 billion investment in the next 18 months to support the 80 million clean cookstoves project.”
The initiative targets adoption of clean and efficient cooking technologies among low-income households relying on firewood and charcoal.
It includes provision of free cookstoves and briquettes, a move expected to ease the economic burden on households while accelerating uptake.
Akinwumi said the intervention addresses health and environmental concerns linked to traditional cooking methods.
“Adoption of clean cookstoves will improve indoor air quality, reduce respiratory illnesses, and mitigate climate change through lower carbon emissions,” he said.
Beyond environmental gains, he emphasised the social dimension of the project, noting that women and children bear the brunt of exposure to smoke from inefficient cooking systems.
Akinwumi noted that in Africa, more than 950 million people lack access to clean cooking, with over 180 million Nigerians affected.
He described the programme as a “transformative initiative” and a defining moment in efforts to deliver cleaner, safer and more efficient household energy systems at scale.
“This is a deliberate journey to ensure the delivery of clean cooking technologies for households in Nigeria and across Africa,” he said, while calling for broader stakeholder support to achieve the project’s long-term targets.
Group Chief Financial Officer of GreenPlinth Africa, Babatunde Aina, said the next phase focuses on execution timelines and infrastructure rollout.
He said the company plans to distribute about one million cookstoves monthly once production ramps up.
According to him, validation and registration processes for the cookstoves are expected to be completed between October and December, adding that the project is structured around clear milestones.
“We have a nine-month timeline with eight major milestones, and we expect to be about 95 per cent on track within that period,” Aina said.
He also revealed plans to establish factories and assembly plants across states, a move aimed at boosting local manufacturing capacity, creating jobs and strengthening supply chains.
He said proposals to sub-national governments are ongoing.
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Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Climate Change and Circular Economy, Titilayo Oshodi,
believes the agreement with Allgreen Energy NV is a critical enabler for the 80 million cookstoves target.
She said the issue of access to clean cooking in Africa is not only a development concern, but also “a defining question of equity, health, climate justice and economic transformation”.
She said: “In Nigeria alone, over 180 million people are affected, with women bearing the greatest share of the burden.”
Oshodi pointed to evidence from a pilot intervention in Makoko, Lagos, where improved cookstoves were tested in real household conditions over seven days.
The results, she said, demonstrate both the feasibility and scalability of clean cooking solutions.
According to her, households recorded an average daily firewood consumption of about 10 kilograms at baseline.
With the introduction of improved cookstoves, this dropped to roughly 1.37 kilograms of briquettes per day, an efficiency improvement of over 85 per cent.
“That is not a marginal gain; it is a structural shift in household energy use,” Oshodi said.
