Contact: Tom Price +1.801.712.5371
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 22, 2017
Rwandan Fuel Company Heats Up With Major Investments - Sets Down Marker For The ‘Clean Cookstove’ Sector & Funders -
(New Delhi) Inyenyeri, a Rwandan cooking fuel company, today revealed loans, grants, and sale of emission carbon credits and agency rights totalling $20M+ USD in the last 6 months, outstripping the amount raised in any single year by the entire cookstove sector, as reported by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.. The Company also issued a call to the sector to ‘make Tier 4 level cooking the floor, not the ceiling,’ and asks funders to dramatically expand investment into development of cleaner, user friendly, longer lasting stoves. “We are honored and grateful to have received this level of support for our “Made In Rwanda” solution to the global cookstove problem” said Eric Reynolds, founder and CEO of Inyenyeri. “We are launching at scale to serve more than 150,000 households in a few years time. These investments by several organizations (after many hundreds of hours of due diligence) re-affirms our experience that it’s possible to provide Tier 4 cooking in even the poorest homes with a for-profit model. But, it’s still not enough--funders need to invest in further development to drive stove technology to get better every year.” The company has received a wide range of commitments, reflecting a level of economic sophistication that can prove a business model worth copying across Sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond. “We provide the cleanest and most fuel efficient biomass fueled stoves under a free-use contract. Our profits to fuel growth will come for selling sustainably produced fuel pellets and, to a lesser extent, carbon credits. This model becomes more viable with stoves having ease of use and a durable service life of a decade or more. ‘Mamas’ in Rwanda, and in all poor households, simply want stoves with the ease of use and longevity used in North American and European homes. To not strive for this a tragic failure of imagination. “We believe Tier 4 must be the floor, not the ceiling when it comes to clean cookstoves.” The company will begin using #4isthefloor on social media to highlight their focus on providing the best possible service. The Inyenyeri system use best in class Tier 4 cookstoves that when used with wood fuel pellets reduces emissions by ~98-99% compared to wood or charcoal stoves. Stoves are provided for free-use in return for a customer subscribing to purchase pellets. The monthly cost is >30%% less than charcoal, and provides a vastly improved user experience. This innovative Stove+Fuel System can hit “the impact jackpot” according to pioneering impact investor Kevin Starr, MD of the Mulago Foundation. “Every home deserves safe, clean, affordable cooking. The sector needs millions in grants immediately to speed development and distribution of better BGT stoves that ‘Mamas’ love so much they cook with nothing else. We hope to leave this Forum with engagements for an additional $10M in grants.” added Reynolds. “The barrier to implementing at scale is no longer a business model that can be copied. We have sufficient proof this will work; now is the time for broad engagement to fund making the “impact jackpot” a reality.
Timeline of significant recent funding transactions: • November 2016: Letter of Intent signed with the Carbon Initiative for Development of the World Bank to sell 1,000,000 Certified Emission Reductions (‘carbon credit’ Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreement) with an undisclosed future value that can be seen to be in the range of $4.7M and $11.7M (according to statements made by WB carbon finance leadership). • April 2017: Loan facility for €8M from Althelia Ecosphere secured by ERPA future revenue stream. • April 2017: Agency Agreement with Althelia to sell 3,000,000 CERs to yield greater value than the original ERPA (at minimum fixed price). • June 2017: Final ERPA signed with World Bank. • August 2017: €3M grant over three years from IKEA Foundation for core operations. • October/November 2017: €500K grant from Belgium Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the UNHCR of Rwanda to partially fund expansion of Inyenyeri system to the entire Kigeme Refugee Camp (~19,600 pop.). UNHCR has also committed to fund cash transfers (~$1M) for next three years to households opting into Inyenyeri contracts to fully fund pellet fuel purchases. Additional funding for this initiative is expected to be announced soon. Previous funding events of note: • 2012-2016: $3.6M concessional loans (program related investments) from Founder, Mulago Foundation, Osprey Foundation, Compton Foundation, Sall Family Foundation, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, DOEN Foundation • 2012-2016: $1.1M grants from Segal Family Foundation, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, Energy & Environment Program of Southern & East Africa • 2014: Researchers at the University of North Carolina secured a $2.6M grant from the National Institutes of Health (USA) to support a Randomized Control Trial to study and verify the impact of Inyenyeri. Additional grant funding from USAID & GACC for $250K was added to the study.