The Africa Go Green Fund (“AGG”), managed by Cygnum Capital, has agreed to invest USD 10 million to fund the manufacturing and distribution of efficient cookstoves produced by BURN Manufacturing (BURN), Africa’s leading clean cookstove manufacturer and cookstove carbon project developer.
AGG’s investment will result in the distribution of improved cooking solutions to between 50,000 – 150,000 customers in each of Mozambique, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). BURN’s efficient cookstoves improve customer livelihoods and provide air-quality related health benefits, while mitigating deforestation. This project is expected to reduce approximately 6.9 million tons of CO2e emissions over the project’s life.
In addition to its industry-leading clean cookstove manufacturing and distribution capability, BURN has been a pioneer in developing clean cookstove projects within voluntary emission reduction (VER) carbon credit markets. The VER credits generated from the project will be directly leveraged to increase the affordability of the cookstoves for households in the project markets.
Peter Scott, BURN CEO said: "We are excited about our collaboration with the Africa Go Green Fund, marking a significant step forward in our mission to bring clean and sustainable cooking solutions to over 300,000 households in Mozambique, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This strategic partnership will empower communities to embrace clean cookstoves, reducing harmful smoke emissions and contributing to the critical cause of forest conservation. Together, we are dedicated to forging a path toward a more sustainable future."
Laurene Aigrain, Executive Director AGG commented: “We are very fortunate to have teamed up with investors that back up words with action. Africa Go Green was created with the objective of pushing boundaries. This transaction will hopefully pave the way for more capital to fund projects with such clear environmental and social benefits."
About BURN Manufacturing
In 2011, BURN was founded with a mission to save lives and forests by revolutionizing the clean cookstove sector. While traditional, inefficient cookstoves bankrupt families, damage their health and destroy forests, BURN’s best-in-class stoves save families money on fuel, limit indoor air pollution and protect forests. BURN is now Africa’s leading clean cooking company and one of the only carbon-offset project developers to cover the full carbon value chain, from project design and in-house monitoring to credit issuance. Headquartered in Kenya, and with direct operations in 8 African countries, BURN employs 2,500 people across Africa. The company has manufactured and distributed over 4 million clean cookstoves, transforming the lives of over 22 million people and avoiding 17 million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Learn more at burnstoves.com.
About Africa Go Green
AGG is designed to support activities that mitigate GHG emissions in Africa. The fund provides debt financing to businesses and projects across the spaces of industrial energy efficiency, green buildings, clean transport, and green appliances. AGG was established by KfW and has received funding commitments from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (“BMZ”) through KfW, in addition to funding commitments from the African Development Bank (and in its on capacity as the implementing entity for SEFA and the Clean Technology Fund (“CTF”)), the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), Nordic Development Fund (“NDF”), and Calvert Impact Capital. This current fund committed capital is at USD 150 million.
About Cygnum Capital (Formerly Lion’s Head Global Partners)
Cygnum Capital Group is an investment bank and asset manager operating across frontier and emerging markets. Founded in 2008, Cygnum Capital is a global provider of tailored and innovative financial solutions to meet its clients’ diverse needs.
Cygnum Capital uses long-term relationships, networks and local market understanding to deliver a best-in-class service. With offices in London, Nairobi, Lagos, Dubai, and Amsterdam, Cygnum Capital’s dynamic team of 70 finance professionals provide deep sectoral expertise, a broad product offering, an asset management platform and the ability to leverage synergies between our corporate finance, asset management and advisory activities.
Cygnum Capital Asset Management manages five pioneering funds: four debt funds including: (i) the African Local Currency Bond Fund (“ALCBF”), a ground-breaking investment vehicle established to support local currency capital markets, (ii) Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (“OGEF”) which supports companies in off grid energy such as SHS and small- medium mini-grids, (iii) Facility for Energy Inclusion (“FEI”) which support companies that provide a range of renewable energy solutions such as medium - large mini- grids, C&I and IPP with a maximum capacity of 25 MW, (iv) AfricaGoGreen (“AGG”) Fund which supports companies combating climate change by reducing the use of fossil fuels through new technologies and that increase energy efficiency; and a VC private equity fund (v) E3 Low Carbon Economy Fund for Africa (“E3 LCEF”) which invests in climate-smart services, digital connectivity & Applications, low-carbon productivity enablers. Cygnum Capital Asset Management has over USD 750 million of assets under management with investments in more than 34 African countries.
