Acumen invests in affordable clean cooking solutions in East Africa

Compared to modern stoves, charcoal cooking is slow, expensive, and unhealthy for people and the planet. Despite these drawbacks, nearly a third of the global population relies on charcoal cooking. In Rwanda, that figure rises to a staggering 93%.

Enter BioMassters, a new Acumen investee that’s on a mission to replace charcoal cooking with smokeless, solar-powered pellet stoves. BioMassters is headquartered in Kigali and operates without any overhead from the global north. The stoves are locally manufactured in Rwanda and run on pellet fuel sourced from biomass waste materials in partnership with the largest forest management company in Rwanda. The pellets are priced 30% lower than charcoal, ensuring affordability for customers and offering a consistent cooking experience akin to liquefied petroleum gas.

Since launching in 2020, BioMassters has built a customer base of 5,000 households and small businesses across Rwanda, with a particular focus on customers in urban and peri-urban locations. About 30% of these customers live on less than $3.65 per day, but the company has also found traction with more affluent families who want a clean, inexpensive alternative in the face of soaring energy prices. In switching to BioMassters, customers report 30% savings on costs of fuel, 80% savings in time spent cooking, and 90% reduction in smoke. 

BioMassters will use Acumen’s funds to finance the construction of a new fuel production facility to increase production allowing the company to reach more customers. Acumen’s investment will also support distribution of stoves and help expand the company’s network of retail shops. Combined, these efforts will enable BioMassters to reach 25,000 households and small businesses with clean cooking solutions. 

“Our partnership with Acumen reinforces our shared vision for creating impactful change through clean cooking solutions,” says Claudia Muench, CEO and co-founder of BioMassters. “Together, we are poised to accelerate our growth, scale our operations, and continue to innovate, transforming how communities cook while addressing global climate challenges.”

“We are excited to announce our investment in BioMassters, the largest manufacturer of pellet fuel out of biomass waste materials in East Africa,” says Chris Maranga, who leads Acumen’s work in East Africa. “Being locally produced, pellets result in lower capital expenditure compared to connecting households to electricity, offering a stable and sustainable energy solution unaffected by global price fluctuations and geopolitical factors. Our investment in BioMassters is additive to our already existing clean cooking portfolio, and we’re looking with this capital to continue to tackle global energy poverty.”