April 3, Nairobi  – U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Field Investment Specialist Colin Dreizin joined the Kenya Union of Savings & Credit Co-operatives (KUSCCO) to launch a credit facility to increase Kenyan consumers’ access to loans to purchase clean cook stoves.

USAID awarded a grant to KUSCCO as part of an open competition for innovative solutions to overcome distribution and financing bottlenecks in the Kenyan cook stove sector, two key constraints to growth noted in recent market assessments by Winrock and the Global Alliance for Clean Cook stoves.  KUSCCO supports a network of 1,350 member SACCOs that will provide credit to their individual members seeking to purchase cook stoves. 

Clean cook stoves reduce fuel consumption, reduce indoor air pollution, and improve efficiencies that ultimately save tens of thousands of shillings per year for the average Kenyan household, as well as reducing health risks. 

“Demonstrating their strong commitment to the long-term sustainability and success of the fund, KUSCCO and its member SACCOs will provide two dollars of their own funds to the credit facility for every dollar provided by the grant – effectively tripling the impact of USAID’s investment,” said Dreizin.

The U.S. Government has a long history of supporting the clean cook stove sector in Kenya.  Over thirty years ago the U.S. government funded an alternative energy project to study the construction of small stoves in rural areas, which led to one of the first clean cook stoves.  From the launch of the Global Alliance by former Secretary of State Clinton in 2010 to the American companies working here, such as BURN Manufacturing, the U.S. is committed to supporting the development of a robust market for clean and healthy cooking solutions in Kenya. 

USAID and Winrock International, through the 4-year Developing a Sustainable Cook stove Sector activity, are working to mitigate negative environmental impacts caused by the inefficient use of biomass fuels for cooking.