Mirova, a sustainable investing affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, has announced financing for climate tech provider Koko to scale up its residential energy utility across Kenya and Rwanda.
The funding comes through the Mirova Gigaton Fund, aimed at accelerating renewable energy access in emerging markets. Koko, a provider of clean cooking technology, will use the carbon finance debt facility to expand its network of bioethanol-based cooking fuel solutions, helping to reduce reliance on charcoal and firewood — a major contributor to deforestation and air pollution in sub-Saharan Africa.
Over 850 million people still rely on firewood and charcoal for cooking, with 2.2 billion projected to use polluting energy by 2030 — causing 3.7 million annual deaths, mostly among women and children.
Koko currently supplies over 1.3 million homes in Kenya and Rwanda with sustainable bioethanol fuel, distributed through a vast network of high-tech Koko Fuel ATMs in local corner stores. The model leverages carbon revenues to provide energy subsidies for households, enabling even the poorest families to switch to clean cooking solutions.
By supporting this, Mirova’s Gigaton Fund is contributing to key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including expanding access to affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), combating climate change (SDG 13), protecting forests (SDG 15), improving public health (SDG 3), and promoting sustainable economic growth and infrastructure (SDG 8, SDG 9, SDG 11).
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The partnership highlights the growing role of innovative financing models, like carbon finance debt, in addressing critical environmental and social challenges. The solution not only reduces emissions but also brings tangible health benefits to vulnerable communities, particularly in fast-growing urban centers.
John Kimotho, Investment Director at Mirova Kenya Ltd: “We are proud to support KOKO’s transformative bioethanol cooking fuel technology platform, which aligns perfectly with the Mirova Gigaton Fund’s focus on innovative solutions to tackle climate challenges in emerging countries. This investment aims to not only reduce emissions from cooking but also combat deforestation by decreasing dependence on charcoal. Through this partnership, we are advancing scalable, sustainable solutions for a greener future.”
Greg Murray, CEO & co-founder at KOKO: “We are pleased to have an asset manager of Mirova’s calibre on board to support our continued impact. Solving the charcoal curse is one of the grand challenges of development, and leveraging compliance carbon markets to enable a non-government consumer energy subsidy is an idea whose time has finally arrived. We look forward to working together with the Mirova team for the long term.”
