Oando, affordable clean cooking fuels for Nigerian households
Oando Marketing PLC provides integrated energy services in Nigeria and internationally. In collaboration with Alitheia Capital, a Nigerian advisory firm, Oando aims to provide Nigerian low income households with affordable and accessible clean cooking fuels through low weight Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders with integrated cooking rings.
The initiative is built on two parallel value propositions - sell the integrated stove/cylinder product and also provide financing for the initial purchase of the stove via a microfinance fund. Commercially, the project is primarily driven by the objective to deepen and extend Oando’s existing LPG value chain coverage to reach end consumers in areas that are currently difficult to reach and increase the use of gas across Nigeria. From a development perspective, low-income households directly benefit from access to a more environmentally friendly and affordable fuel alternative to currently used cooking fuels such as kerosene, firewood, electricity or charcoal.
Social, economic and environmental benefits include:
-
A reduction of negative health impacts – LPG reduces Indoor Air Pollution (IAP), which is caused chiefly by the burning and subsequent inhalation of solid fuels and estimated to be the fourth highest health risk factor in Africa. Women and children below the age of four are those most often impacted by the health implications of burning solid fuels in the house, so the existence of clean cooking fuel alternatives benefits them most.
-
A reduction of carbon emissions and deforestation – By replacing solid fuel stoves the project reduces black carbon, which is the second most important contributor to global warming. A change in consumption patterns away from fuels such as firewood and charcoal also has positive impacts on deforestation.
-
Opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs – Oando’s distribution model creates income opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs via a franchise model.