UK aid (FCDO) funded Modern Energy Cooking Services Invests in Three African Companies to Help Accelerate the Transition to Clean and Affordable Cooking

Nairobi, Kenya, 5 May 2026 – Across sub-Saharan Africa, more that 600 million people still cook with wood, charcoal, or other biomass fuels—a challenge that drives deforestation, generates harmful indoor air pollution, and imposes a disproportionate burden on women and girls. Closing this gap is one of the most urgent and compelling investment opportunities in the clean energy sector. Three innovative African companies are demonstrating exactly that.

Bridging the investment gap in clean cooking

EcoBora, PowerUp, and Sun-Power Box are Africa-based companies using clean technologies and innovative business models to make clean cooking viable and affordable for urban, peri-urban, and off-grid communities. Each is at a pivotal stage: they have gathered early evidence and validated demand for efficient electric cooking (e-cooking) technologies and now need targeted investment that will unlock the next round of growth.

Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS), a research and innovation program funded by UK aid via the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has made direct Research & Development (R&D) investments in all three companies. These investments will directly support the companies’ R&D efforts, which includes product testing, technology validation, business model refinement, and market access research, generating transferable knowledge and reduce risk for future investors. Despite the clear potential for e-cooking, current financial structures are not adequately supporting its growth, creating a critical gap for early-stage ventures. MECS’ R&D venture building support is designed to bridge that gap and support early-stage companies move from market entry to scale.

Nyamolo Abagi, Director of Clean Energy Access at CLASP and member of the MECS Investment Committee, comments on the Investment Committee’s decision: “The MECS Investment Committee is pleased to support these three trail-blazing ventures. All three companies demonstrated potential to scale up their businesses and make significant strides in accelerating the adoption of clean cooking technologies across Africa.”

Meet the three companies:

Ecobora is a Kenya-based clean energy enterprise that manufactures solar- and grid-powered institutional electric cookstoves for large-scale kitchens. Combining robust design with smart monitoring and carbon revenue pathways, Ecobora is expanding affordable, zero-emission cooking for schools and other institutions across Africa.

PowerUp, a Uganda-based clean-tech venture, delivers affordable electric cooking solutions through smart electric pressure cookers and induction cooktops with integrated metering and Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) features that are supported by a data platform and carbon finance model.

Sun-Power Box is a Malawi-based company tackling the clean cooking challenge in rural off-grid communities. Its battery-enabled solar-electric cooking systems integrate efficient appliances, end-to-end system design, and last-mile delivery to bring clean cooking to households that are harder to reach.

All three companies have established track records of growth and a demonstrated readiness to push their technologies to the next level.

Kato Kibuka, Co-founder and CEO of PowerUp, remarks on how this R&D support will impact the company’s capacity to innovate and reach more people: “PowerUP values the R&D support from CLASP and MECS programme, which allows us to continue innovating on electric cooking solutions that are accessible and attractive to African homes. Now, even more customers will save money and time while avoiding indoor air pollution.”

MECS R&D venture building support

Over the next year, this R&D venture building support will focus on product testing and validation, alongside market access, financial, and policy research. Critically, the findings will build the evidence base that the wider clean cooking sector, and prospective investors, need to move with confidence.

Professor Rachel Kyte, UK Special Representative for Climate, remarks on the significance of this investment decision: “Clean cooking technologies transform lives and protect the planet by improving health, generating jobs, and avoiding deforestation. Innovative UK-African partnerships advancing viable and affordable electric cooking solutions are more important than ever at a time of price shocks and supply disruption for LPG and other fossil fuels. Supporting these three pioneering firms is part of our modern approach to development and helps move the world one step closer to universal clean cooking.”

A call to investors and partners

MECS’ investment in EcoBora, PowerUp, and Sun-Power Box is an early signal of what is possible when R&D funding is deployed with precision and purpose. The evidence these companies generate is designed to de-risk the investments that come next. MECS invite impact investors, development finance institutions, and technology partners to engage with these ventures and explore how their capital can help accelerate the clean cooking transition across Africa.

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About Modern Energy Cooking Services programme

Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) is an eleven-year programme funded by UK aid via the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. MECS is a geographically diverse, multicultural and transdisciplinary team working in close partnership with NGOs, governments, private sector, academia and research institutes, policy representatives and communities in 16 countries of interest to accelerate a transition from biomass to genuinely ‘clean’ cooking.

About CLASP

CLASP is the leading global authority on efficient appliances’ role in fighting climate change and improving people’s lives. With 25 years of expertise and offices on four continents, CLASP collaborates with policymakers, industry leaders, and other experts to deliver clear pathways to a more sustainable world for people and the planet.