Mukuru Clean Stoves
Charlot is an eco-entrepreneur who runs Mukuru Clean Stoves – a social enterprise that designs, produces and distributes improved, reliable and affordable cook stoves for low-income households. She grew up in Mukuru, one of the biggest slums in Nairobi. She won the AWIEF Empowerment Award 2019, Waistlitz Global Citizen Award 2019 and SDGs and Her award 2018 for her work in fighting household air pollution and poverty and empowering women business owners. Cha believes in a world where every household is smoke free and has dedicated her time, skills and knowledge to work towards achieving this dream. Mukuru Stoves enable families to save upto $2 weekly. Through her partnership with local women business owners, her sales agents have been able to increase their household income by $7 weekly. Charlot is a 2019 Westerwelle Young Founder.
Mukuru Clean Stoves is a women-led, managed and focused
social-enterprise based in Kenya, Mukuru works with female entrepreneurs,
women’s groups and MFI’s to finance and distribute improved cookstoves
to thousands of households in Kenya. Following successful pilots in
Kibera and Siaya County and with commitments to provide 50,000
cookstoves per year to partner organisations, Mukuru is seeking to
scale-up production and distribution, reduce the cost and sales price of
the system, expand in to 4 further counties.
Our project will provide 50,000 Cookstoves to low-income households.
Enable 150,000 people to benefit from cleaner air in households.
Avoid 65357 tCO₂e GHC emissions.
Enable families to save $2,880,000 on energy related expenditure every year
Train and Employ 300 women business owners as sales agents
Increase household income by $7 every week for sales agents and artisans
Train and employ 20 local youth as artisans
Burning solid fuels such as charcoal and agricultural waste in open fires and traditional stoves exposes
families to air pollution levels as much as 50 times greater than the WHO guidelines for clean air.
36 million Kenyans have their health negatively impacted due to exposure to household air pollution,
84% still rely on harmful solid fuel for cooking and 18,000 deaths are attributed to HAP every year.
Women and children are disproportionately affected by the dangerous effects of HAP, as they are the
ones who spend the most time in the kitchen.
Families at the base of the economic pyramid earn an average of $40-$100 monthly income and spend
one third on fuel consumption. The available interventions, such as LPG,are un-affordable and
inaccessible to these low-income households.
Mukuru Clean Stoves is the first woman-owned factory in East Africa that recycles waste metal to
produce improved cookstoves with the aim of reducing household air pollution and fuel consumption.
The virtues of replacing traditional stoves with improved cookstoves are well documented, from reducing
exposure to hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), lowering burns risk, reducing fuel consumption, costs and
cooking time. However, while the market in Kenya for improved cookstoves is one of the most mature,
affordability and accessibility of improved cookstoves remain two of the primary barriers to adoption at
scale and millions of households persist with unsustainable methods.
Through utilizing recycled materials to manufacture our cookstoves, establishing partnerships with MFIs
targeting women, working with women groups and entrepreneurs in marketing and distribution, and
ultimately, by incorporating the knowledge and expertise of those that use the stoves - women -
throughout the entire value-chain, Mukuru Clean Stoves has been able to reduce the production and
operational costs, whilst maximizing and optimizing the distribution network, hence streamlining the
pathway to scale.
Mukuru targets low-income households across urban, peri-urban and rural communities who earn an
average of $40-$100 monthly income. Our current customers are women who range in age from 18-55,
who cook at least 3 times a day using charcoal, for households averaging 5 members. The stoves save
these families at least $400 per year, whilst reducing exposure to hazardous air pollutants by 50%, and
freeing users time for educational and economically productive activities.
Furthermore, over 40% of micro enterprises in Siaya are women owned. Mukuru Clean Stoves works with
them as ambassadors and retailers of our clean cook stoves. The small business owners will earn a 10%
commission per cook stove sold increasing their household income by $7 per week. For larger scale
distribution Mukuru targets, local women's groups/VSLAs and MFIs whose members are 95+ female.
- Elevating opportunities for all people, especially those who are traditionally left behind
Mukuru targets low-income households across urban, peri-urban and rural communities who earn an average of $40-$100 monthly income. Our current customers are women who range in age from 18-55, who cook at least 3 times a day using charcoal, for households averaging 5 members. The stoves save these families at least $400 per year, whilst reducing exposure to hazardous air pollutants by 50%, and freeing users time for educational and economically productive activities.
Placing women and girls at the heart of our operations, and surrounding them with financing opportunities via partnerships, significantly reduces barriers to the adoption of our technology.
Our first prototype of the stove was made using imported metal sheets. Though effective, the cost of
production was high, thus locked out our target audience; those who live at the base of socioeconomic
pyramid. They could not afford our price range!
My team and I tested other solutions and settled on strong, durable recycled metallic materials that could
handle high heat levels for the exterior part while mixing mekolite with cement to build the interior
section. We include a detachable metal interior to allow for use of both charcoal and firewood.
This innovative approach not only reduced toxic emissions by 50-90% but it also led to decrease in fuel
consumption by 30-60% and it is 75% cheaper!
Life for a young girl orphaned at the age of 10 years growing up in Mukuru, one of the biggest slums in Nairobi was tough, risky and unbearable. By sixteen I was a teenage mom and my journey got even harder. I had to drop out of school to figure out a way to fend for myself and my daughter. My first job was selling charcoal within the slum community and it was the only fuel I could afford. My daughter and I kept suffering from respiratory tract infections and when she turned two she suffered a severe burn injury from a traditional stove.
After a two year break from school, I was finally able to save enough for tuition and I enrolled in an adult school – which opened my eyes to the health hazards caused by charcoal and other harmful solid fuels. An enthusiast of science and social studies, I wanted to inspire fellow women to lead the fight against household air pollution and rewrite the script of possibility for Africa!
I founded Mukuru Clean Stoves to help mothers keep their children safe, save on fuel consumption and reduce household air pollution.
Our governance structure has the Board of Advisors at the helm; they advise the management team on policies, procedures and serve as a trusted interdepartmental knowledge pool for the organization. The
Advisory board comprises experts in product development, corporate governance, fundraising, marketing and social impact. The CEO heads the management; guiding the development and achievement of strategic goals. The respective team leaders report to the departmental heads.
Charlot Magayi, CEO, has a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science with over 5 years’ experience in the clean cookstoves industry. Mary Oula, Operations Manager, has a Bachelor’s Degree in Project Planning. With 5 years’ experience in strategy development, Mary delivers impeccable results
in resolving market penetration challenges. Josephine Kemunto, sales coordinator, has a Bachelors Degree in Sales and Marketing from University of Nairobi. She previously worked at Coca- Cola as a regional sales representative.
In 2017, I lost my factory to an accidental fire. Unfortunately, we had no insurance cover for the factory
or any of the equipment. We suffered huge losses and had to let go of 90% of our staff. We started afresh
and with the support of loyal suppliers who extended credit lines to my company, the local community
and other well wishers, we were able to build back up again.
This experience changed my way of handling business. Now, I invest in doing thorough due diligence,
putting measures in place to prevent any unavoidable accidents, resolving issues swiftly and working
with honest people. I have been able to integrate keenness in my company culture and in the way that
we serve our customers.
In my volunteering work as a mentor for girls who are teenage mothers in Mukuru Slums and Siaya
County, I have encountered several challenges in trying to provide preliminary counseling for the girls
and their families. The toughest part has always been working with parents and guardians to help them
understand that these girls their deserve love, respect and support for them to succeed in life.
Over time, through learning, mentorship and practice I have learnt better ways of engaging the parents
and empathizing with them. I usually organize an initial meeting where I listen to their anger and let
them vent out about the shame and disappointed that they feel. Most parents are willing to have a
conversation when you show them that you truly care. This is followed by painting for them a positive
picture about the potential in moving past the assumed shame and working on building a better life for
the young mothers and their children.
- For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Founder & CEO