In Q2 we have seen exceptional growth across our business units in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and Q3 is following suit. Our popular SuperSaver Charcoal
Stove continues its market leading success, bolstered by our new grilling accessory the SuperGrill. The aroma of freshly grilled food is common in Nairobi, and customers throughout Kenya have enjoyed the versatility that adding a SuperGrill to their Envirofit stove gives them for preparing meals. Watch this recipe for Crispy Grilled Chicken from Chef Ali Mandhry and you'll see why it continues to be in huge demand across our Africa markets.
In addition, the response to Envirofit's new SmartGas LPG program has been incredible. As previewed in our last newsletter, SmartGas LPG will enable thousands of families to access affordable, modern Tier 4 gas cooking. Demand for affordable cleaner cooking is high in our target markets, and we wanted to share with you what makes this groundbreaking program possible. Envirofit's SIM/GPS enabled SmartGas Valve will enable families to use mobile money to pay for LPG as they cook. It also gives customers the visibility to monitor fuel levels and schedule their next delivery before running out of fuel. LPG is often dismissed as unaffordable in our markets, but the truth is LPG can be more affordable than biomass if it can be purchased daily. In
my latest piece on Envirofit's blog I explain how this is possible.
Building on years of laboratory and field research, Envirofit's first pilot programs in Ghana and Kenya are up and running. We are working in partnership with KopaGas to develop and fully commercialize this revolutionary technology that will provide a new financing mechanism for consumers in emerging markets to afford cleaner, healthier cooking fuels. To learn more about the SmartGas program see our latest video on our website.
Earlier this year, Envirofit India embarked on an innovative carbon program partnership with Infosys targeting rural families that will deliver 37,200 cookstoves and offset 150,000 tons of CO2. Infosys became the
first IT company in the world to make a commitment to the United Nations to become Carbon Neutral. Envirofit worked with Infosys to help them achieve these sustainability goals.
This summer has been a busy one as Envirofit continues to develop new clean cooking technology solutions for families as they transition up the energy ladder, and we look forward to sharing our learnings at the Global Alliance Clean Cooking Summit in October.
Ron Bills CEO & Chairman of the Board
How Envirofit SmartGas Works
Asia
Infosys and Envirofit India Partner to Deliver 37,200 Clean Cookstoves to Rural Indian Communities
Envirofit India – the country's leading clean cookstove company – and Infosys – a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services – have partnered on a project that will deliver 37,200 stoves in Maharashtra and offset 150,000 tons of CO2. Targeting families in hard-to-access rural communities, this project aims to reduce carbon emissions from rural households and improve livelihoods.
Africa
Partner Spotlight – LivelyHoods Kenya
LivelyHoods' vision is a world in which everyone is able to provide for themselves and their families through dignified employment. They work to achieve this vision by teaching Kenyan women and youth sales and business skills to help them sell much needed products to their fellow Kenyans, such as solar lanterns and clean cookstoves. They primarily operate in the slums abutting the iconic Kenyan cities of Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru, and 11 other low-income communities.
Envirofit Kenya Launches #EnvirofitSuperChef Recipe Website
Earlier this year Envirofit Kenya launched their #EnvirofitSuperChef Club, which provided Facebook followers traditional recipes with a modern twist. The recipes reached thousands of people per month, and are such a hit that we've collected them all on the new SuperChef website, where customers can go to for the latest great tasting meals that are easy to cook on their SuperSaver Charcoal stove.
Envirofit Ghana Partners with Film Star and International Celebrity Nana Ama McBrown to Bring Clean Cooking to Ghana
Ghanaian film star, entrepreneur and international celebrity Nana Ama McBrown has partnered with Envirofit Ghana to help bring clean cooking to the Western African nation of over 28 million. Fluent in English and Twi and blessed with charisma to spare, Nana Ama is an ideal figure to help spread Envirofit's message throughout Ghana. Along with appearing at stove demonstrations to delight crowds in Accra and Kumasi, she has also starred in health and cooking focused videos for Envirofit Ghana that have gotten hundreds of thousands of views across social media.
LPG – Is It Really Too Expensive for Low and Middle Income Countries?
People in emerging markets pay as much as $1 per day for charcoal when they make daily purchases. However, if an equivalent amount of LPG could be purchased daily the cost would be only $0.56 per day. If the option to make daily LPG purchases was available, it would be nearly half the cost of cooking with charcoal. Over 80% of Sub-Saharan Africans cook using charcoal, many of them paying for it daily. These daily charcoal purchases cost families 76% more – around $30 per month for charcoal versus $17 per month for LPG.
Envirofit International wins Bloomberg New Energy Finance's "New Energy Pioneers 2017" Award
Envirofit International Inc. has been selected as one of the ten winners of The Bloomberg New Energy Finance's "New Energy Pioneers 2017" Award. The awards are presented annually by Bloomberg New Energy Finance to companies from around the world based on their potential to scale, their innovation and momentum. Envirofit International received this recognition for their groundbreaking work making high quality clean cooking technology affordable and accessible to people living in energy poverty, and pioneering sustainable markets for clean cookstoves around the world.
