Kenya
Compliance Guideline for Implementation of Efficient Lighting Standards in Africa
How can African policymakers and compliance and enforcement officers implement robust lighting policies and protect national markets from low quality, inefficient lighting products?
This guide provides the research and tools African governments need to lead the continent’s transition to more efficient, better performing lighting solutions. It outlines how to comply with the global mandate to phase out fluorescent lighting by 2027 under the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and covers other topics including:
- Understanding lighting technologies: Offers a detailed exploration of various lighting technologies, their applications, and market trends to help officers identify, differentiate, and assess products effectively during approval processes.
- Energy efficiency policies: Provides insights into energy-efficient lighting policies, including international, regional, and national regulations, and related compliance considerations.
- Conformity assessment: Gives an overview of processes for conformity assessments, exploring different models, their associated compliance risk levels, and the infrastructure needed for effective implementation with lighting policies before they are placed on the market.
- Market monitoring and enforcement: Provides an overview of how to identify non-compliant products in the market and how to enforce compliance with lighting regulations. Additionally, the guide highlights common non-compliance issues encountered during market monitoring offering recommended corrective actions.
- Case studies: Provides case studies from Ghana, Australia, and the European Union that showcase examples of regional harmonization in regulations, various conformity models, and national compliance programs.
Foregrounding Global South Solutions at London Climate Action Week
This week, global climate advocates are converging on the UK capital for the seventh iteration of London Climate Action Week.
CLASP leaders are joining events across the city to discuss the critical role of appliances in climate mitigation and adaptation, with a focus on the Global South.
On Monday, CLASP hosted an event offering a preview of a forthcoming report. The research argues that extending electricity to the hundreds of millions of people who don’t have access—most of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa—will require a new focus on appliances.
Panelists at CLASP's 2025 London Climate Action Week event focused on powering sustainable energy development.
CLASP
In his introduction to the event, one of the report’s authors, Bishal Thapa, CLASP’s chief strategy and impacts officer, provided an overview of its thesis. To date, attempts to provide universal energy access have failed because they have focused exclusively on supply, he said, with the idea that if we “just keep expanding the grid . . . lo and behold, everyone will get electricity.” In practice, however, because people living in the affected areas lack appliances that allow them to translate electricity into useful services, these efforts often don’t work out as intended.
“We’ve got to look at demand creation as a way of stimulating the economic and financial viability of grid expansion,” he said.
Thapa’s remarks were followed by a panel discussion moderated by Ashden’s Ashok Sinha. Panelists included Sam Grant, CLASP’s senior director of clean energy access and a coauthor of the forthcoming report; SunCulture’s Samir Ibrahim; Mirova’s Nicole Kugelmass; Lightrock’s Hanaan Marwah; and Power for All’s Carolina Inés Pan.
Attendees at CLASP's Powering Sustainable Energy Demand event.
CLASP
CLASP organized a second event on Monday with ZE-Gen, an initiative that promotes zero-emission power generators, with support from UK Aid. Focused on people-centered climate solutions in the Global South, the event presented examples of collaborations between communities, governments, private-sector actors, and nonprofits that create tangible benefits for local stakeholders.
During the panel discussion, Thapa discussed how CLASP’s work on appliance efficiency policy reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps more people access the appliances they need to thrive in a warming world.
Panel discussion at a London Climate Action Week event organized by CLASP and ZE-Gen.
CLASP
Another panelist, Dana Crawhall, talked about the Climate and Clean Air Coalition‘s focus on super pollutants—the chemicals most responsible for short-term global warming. Since these pollutants have profound implications for people’s everyday lives in the Global South, affecting everything from food security and economic development to health, reducing them is vitally important. “This [super pollutant] agenda is really, really critical for the development agenda, to make good on the SDGs,” she said.
Additional panelists included the International Institute for Environment and Development’s Kevin Johnstone, KOC Bridge for Peace’s Karana Olivier, and Intellecap’s Santosh Singh. The discussion was moderated by Cipher News’s Anca Gurzu.
CLASP experts are also appearing at several other events during the remainder of the week. Follow us on LinkedIn and Bluesky for more information.
CLASP and GEAPP Expand Access to Affordable, Energy-Efficient Appliances in Africa
Cape Town, 18 June, 2025 – At the Africa Energy Forum in Cape Town, CLASP and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) announced a substantial expansion of the Productive Use Financing Facility (PUFF). This $6.1 million USD funding boost will help accelerate the uptake of clean, energy-efficient appliances that power small businesses, support farmers, and transform the lives of thousands of people across Africa.
Despite their potential to improve lives globally, efficient appliances are still out of reach for over 600 million people without access to electricity. High costs and limited financing make it difficult for business and households to afford them. PUFF helps bridge that gap.
The facility provides grants, subsidies, and technical assistance to suppliers and distributors to lower prices and reach more customers. This enables small businesses, entrepreneurs, and households to purchase energy-efficient technologies at favorable prices, allowing them to grow over time.
Building on success
This extension builds on the success of the two-year pilot project that connected people with the useful appliances to earn a living. From 2022 to 2024, PUFF worked with 24 companies across six countries, helping to deploy nearly 16,000 appliances, and directly improve the lives of over 58,000 households. These appliances, such as solar-powered refrigerators, solar water pumps, and solar milling machines, had a direct, transformative impact on people’s livelihoods.
“Access to energy is foundational for economic growth. Efficient appliances and equipment, which are how people turn energy into opportunity, need to be considered essential energy infrastructure, alongside renewables. PUFF’s pilot phase proved that targeted support could unlock meaningful change. With effective financing, companies can reach more people with the right appliances, and they can change lives,” said Emmanuel Aziebor, Senior Director for Africa at CLASP.
What’s new in PUFF 2.0?
CLASP and GEAPP are renewing their partnership focused on scaling appliances for agriculture and entrepreneurship in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria. This new round aims to create over 3,000 green jobs through the sale and use of 10,000 appliances in four years, including established appliances like solar water pumps and refrigerators, and more specialized technologies such as coffee pulpers and honey extractors.
This expansion also deepens commitment to gender equity and youth inclusion. In the pilot, women made up nearly half of all appliance buyers, and households where women bought appliances saw a 94% increase in average income. PUFF 2.0 will have an even greater focus on equity by utilizing outreach and financing strategies that center women and young entrepreneurs.
“While electrification has expanded, many investments fail to turn access into economic opportunity, with limited job creation or enterprise growth. Through initiatives such as PUFF 2.0 collaboration with CLASP, we are addressing these shortfalls by ensuring that new energy connections drive productivity and power agriculture, energizing ambition in small and medium sized enterprises, and output in local manufacturing. Increased incomes from these activities spur economic growth and wellbeing in growing communities, creating jobs, and improving the quality of life,” said Makena Ireri, Managing Director for Productive Use of Energy at GEAPP.
CLASP’s Productive Use Financing Facility is supported by The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). Learn more about how it’s benefiting people and our planet.
- Appliance distribution companies who are interested in applying in this second round can get further information on the PUFF webpage and on the webinar on 8 July.
- For more information, please contact financing@clasp.ngo and follow us on LinkedIn for regular updates on how the facility is benefiting people and our planet.
A farmer in Ethiopia using solar-powered drip irrigation acquired through PUFF support. Photo credit: CLASP
CLASP
Women in Nigeria using a solar-powered mill acquired through PUFF support. Photo credit: CLASP
Rekik Bekele, CEO of Green Scene Energy, a leading solar appliance distributor, is expanding access to solar in Ethiopia with support from PUFF. Photo credit: CLASP
Abibat Akinwale, a shopkeeper in Nigeria, with the solar-powered refrigerator she acquired through PUFF support. Photo credit: CLASP
Lolade Esther Alonge of Koolboks shows the CLASP team their solar refrigerators, made more affordable for off-grid communities in Nigeria with PUFF support. Photo credit: CLASP
About CLASP
CLASP is the leading global authority on efficient appliances’ role in fighting climate change and improving people’s lives. An international NGO with 25 years of expertise and offices on four continents, CLASP collaborates with policymakers, industry leaders, and other experts to create a more sustainable future for people and the planet.
About GEAPP
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is an alliance of philanthropy, governments in emerging and developed economies, and technology, policy, and financing partners. Their common mission is to enable LMICs’ shift to a clean energy, pro-growth model that accelerates universal energy access and inclusive economic growth, while supporting the global community to meet critical climate goals during the next decade. As an Alliance, they aim to reduce 4 gigatons of future carbon emissions, expand clean energy access to one billion people, and enable 150 million new jobs. With philanthropic partners, IKEA Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Bezos Earth Fund, GEAPP works to build the enabling environment, capacity, and market conditions for private sector solutions, catalyze new business models through innovation and entrepreneurship, deploy high-risk capital to encourage private sector solutions, and assist just transition solutions. For more information, please visit www.energyalliance.org and follow us on LinkedIn.
Media inquiries: Stella Madete, Africa Communications Manager, smadete@clasp.ngo
2025 Buyer’s Guide for Induction Cooktops
Global LEAP Awards Buyer’s Guides are catalogues of best-in-class appliances and productive use equipment appropriate for use in energy-constrained settings. This edition contains information about induction cooktops named winners and finalists in the 2024-2025 Global LEAP Awards Induction Cooktops Competition.
Nearly 2.3 billion people around the world still rely on polluting fuels, such as firewood, charcoal, and kerosene, for daily cooking. This dependence has far-reaching impacts on public health, the environment, and social and economic inequalities. Modern, energy-efficient electric cooking appliances like induction cooktops offer a powerful alternative.
The 2024–2025 Induction Cooktop Competition builds on growing efforts to expand access to high-quality eCooking solutions. This Buyer’s Guide features the competition’s winners and finalists and highlights top-performing products designed for off- and weak-grid communities. It is a practical resource for market stakeholders, including investors, funders, distributors, and other commercial actors. It provides detailed product specifications, performance metrics, and sales contact information.
The 2024–2025 Induction Cooktops Competition was administered by CLASP and funded by the IKEA Foundation and UK aid from the UK government via the Transforming Energy Access platform.
Read the ‘2025 Buyer’s Guide for Induction Cooktops’ to learn more.
About the Global Leap Awards
The Global LEAP Awards—an initiative of the Efficiency for Access coalition—is an international competition that identifies and promotes the world’s best, most energy-efficient appliances and equipment intended for use in energy-constrained settings.
Carbon Credit Financing for Productive Use Appliance Markets
Long-term, sustainable growth in solar-powered appliance and equipment markets will require a significant increase in financing available to companies and customers. Carbon finance is one mechanism that could drive funding to this market, making solar-powered appliance and equipment more affordable. However, the current infrastructure for carbon finance in this sector is not fit for purpose and needs an upgrade.
This report presents a strategic approach for improving carbon credit financing into the Productive Use Appliance (PUA) sector in Africa, with a particular focus on solar- powered irrigation, cooling, and milling. It provides a comprehensive review of existing carbon methodologies applicable to PUAs and offers practical recommendations for their improvement.
The review uses a novel evaluative framework and analyzes each methodology’s use of baseline studies, monitoring, reporting and verification processes, integration of social and environmental safeguards, and alignment with both voluntary and compliance carbon markets.
Key Findings
- A review of existing methodologies for carbon projects involving solar PUAs revealed significant gaps, especially in terms of regional applicability, data consistency, and monitoring accuracy.
- These gaps limit the effectiveness of the methodologies, making it difficult to capture the true emissions reduction potential of solar PUA projects across different regions, particularly in Africa.
Recommendations
- Develop a new, consolidated solar PUA carbon methodology
- Conduct robust, standardized baseline studies
- Support innovation around digital monitoring, reporting, and evaluation
- Develop and adopt an emission reduction calculation tool
Read the “Carbon Credit Financing for Productive Use Appliance Markets” research paper for more findings.
About Efficiency for Access
Efficiency for Access is a global coalition dedicated to advancing access to energy and affordable, energy efficient appliances. It is co-managed by CLASP and Energy Saving Trust.
Africa
CLASP Supports Water Efficiency in South Africa
South Africa is taking a major step toward water sustainability by developing its first Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS). This national initiative will help reduce water consumption, lower energy demand, and advance the country’s climate goals.
The scheme will introduce standardized labels for products such as taps, toilets and showerheads to help people and businesses make smarter choices that save water and lower costs. It is being led by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in partnership with the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), Water Research Commission (WRC), Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) with technical support from CLASP.
CLASP experts provided timely research that helped shape the scheme. Their in-depth analysis found that adopting water-efficient products—especially for faucets and showerheads—could help South Africa save over 1 trillion litres of water, reduce energy use by 18 terawatt-hours, and avoid 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
“This scheme lays the groundwork for widespread adoption of water-efficient technologies in homes and commercial buildings. It supports smarter consumer decisions and accelerates progress toward climate resilience,” Angellah Wekongo, Senior Associate at CLASP.
The WELS initiative comes at a critical time, as South Africa faces growing water stress and a projected 17% shortfall by 2030. CLASP’s research shows that appliance energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective means of reducing emissions, improving resilience for climate-vulnerable communities, and supporting sustainable development.
“We work with policymakers around the world to provide technical expertise and cutting-edge research on how to achieve international best practice in appliance efficiency. Water efficiency is a strategic priority, and our partnerships in South Africa are key to strengthening climate action and advancing sustainability across Africa,” Anne Muhonja Songole, CLASP’s Africa Climate Manager.
About CLASP
CLASP is the leading global authority on efficient appliances’ role in fighting climate change and improving people’s lives. An international NGO with 25 years of expertise and offices on four continents, CLASP collaborates with policymakers, industry leaders, and other experts to create a more sustainable future for people and the planet.
E-Cookers Bring Clean Cooking to Schools in Kenya
Firewood is the primary cooking fuel in many Kenyan schools, contributing to deforestation, air pollution, and poor health. But with electricity now reaching around 75% of the country, there is a great opportunity for cleaner, safer, and more efficient cooking.
CLASP is partnering with Kenyan innovators Ecobora to expand access to clean cooking solutions in schools across Kenya. Through the Efficiency for Access e-cooking project, the team is testing how electric cooking can replace biomass fuels in school kitchens and other institutions in Kenya. This research will inform the design, deployment, and operation of commercial electric cooking technologies and directly impact how schools feed students in the country.
Ecobora’s award-winning electric cooker is purpose-built for large-scale use. This clean energy innovation features a patented thermal conversion system that enables faster, even cooking. The appliance includes a self-cooking function and supports both solar and electric power for maximum efficiency and flexibility. By eliminating firewood use, it cuts indoor air pollution significantly providing a healthier workplace for the chefs and conserves Kenyan forests. When powered by the sun, it eliminates energy costs, so is much cheaper to run.
Photo by: CLASP
To date, the project has brought electric cooking to nine schools across seven counties in Kenya, helping feed over 12,000 students. These e-cookers are actively in use and consistently show that electric cooking is not only efficient, reliable, and affordable, but also capable of producing delicious meals, including traditional Kenyan dishes.
The Efficiency for Access coalition is co-managed by CLASP and Energy Saving Trust.
About CLASP
CLASP is the leading global authority on efficient appliances’ role in fighting climate change and improving people’s lives. An international NGO with 25 years of expertise and offices on four continents, CLASP collaborates with policymakers, industry leaders, and other experts to create a more sustainable future for people and the planet. CLASP and our partners are dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing, interconnected crises: the climate emergency, poverty, inequality, and access to energy.
Energy for Everyone
Energy is everywhere, and it connects us all. At CLASP, we know that the distribution of affordable, efficient appliances ensures more people have access to modern, safer energy services. This creates opportunities, powers businesses, and improves lives. Get our solutions: https://www.clasp.ngo/
About CLASP
CLASP is the leading global authority on efficient appliances’ role in fighting climate change and improving people’s lives. An international NGO with 25 years of expertise and offices on four continents, CLASP collaborates with policymakers, industry leaders, and other experts to create a more sustainable future for people and the planet. CLASP and our partners are dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing, interconnected crises: the climate emergency, poverty, inequality, and access to energy.