Community Kitchens Powered By Renewable Energy

According to WHO, about 3.2 million people globally die from indoor pollution every year. In Kenya 23000 the majority are women who live on less than $2 PPP and die from indoor pollution - (Kenya Medical Research Institute). These deaths are brought about by health complications arising from the unsafe burning of biomass fuels such as charcoal, kerosene, firewood, and dung during cooking. Regular biomass energy emits 230 grams of CO2 equivalent per kWh (gCO2 per KWh), the fourth highest. With about one billion people across the world without access to clean cooking solutions, there is an urgent need to tackle this global challenge. To solve this problem, a cleaner and more affordable alternative to these biomass fuels is needed. Secondly, about 300 million tons of plastic are produced each year across the globe. Africa generates about 16 million tons annually while Nairobi produces about 2,400 tons per day (oecd.org).  Due to a lack of proper waste collection programs, this plastic waste ends up in landfills or strewn in drainage systems or beside the roads degrading the surrounding environment. When plastic waste is left in landfills, it undergoes a process called anaerobic decomposition. In this process, microorganisms break down the organic matter in the waste without the presence of oxygen. As a result, methane gas (CH4) is produced as a byproduct of the decomposition process. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is significantly more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere compared to carbon dioxide (CO2). Methane has a global warming potential around 25 times greater than that of CO2 over 100 years. When methane is released into the atmosphere, it contributes to climate change by enhancing the greenhouse effect and warming the Earth's surface. Additionally, as plastic waste breaks down over time, it can release other greenhouse gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere, further contributing to environmental pollution and climate change. Therefore, plastic waste left in landfills can indirectly contribute to CO2 emissions through the production of methane gas during the decomposition process. Lastly, Rivers carry plastic waste from deep inland to the sea, making them major contributors to ocean pollution. About 8 million tons of plastic waste ends up in our Oceans, hence endangering life on land and life below water. However, plastics can be converted to a clean gas with no pollutants or emissions and with a high calorific value meaning it burns longer providing a cheaper alternative to biomass fuels. 

Mega Gas solves the challenges highlighted above by providing low-income families with access to clean and affordable cooking energy. The Mega Gas Community Kitchen Model is an innovative approach to distributing and utilizing clean cooking gas within communities. Our model is designed to provide low-income households access to affordable and environmentally friendly cooking solutions. This model establishes a central community kitchen to serve multiple households. Instead of each household individually acquiring and managing their gas supply, the community shares access to a centralized cooking facility. The community kitchen has modern and efficient cooking appliances powered by Mega Gas's clean cooking gas. This centralized approach allows for the optimization of gas usage and ensures that the energy is utilized effectively. Our customers pay only $0.02 to cook for one hour. Beyond cooking, the community kitchen serves as a social hub, fostering community interactions and engagement. It becomes a space for shared activities, collaboration, and information dissemination.

Our clean cooking is made from recycled plastic waste through a thermal cracking patented technology. We work with community-based organizations who collect the plastic waste on our behalf. The plastic is collected and taken to our plastic aggregation satellite point closest to these waste pickers and from here the plastic is transported to our production facility. In our facility, we have designed and fabricated equipment which includes Two continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR), a harvester (Collection Tower), 2 coolers, a separator cylinder, and a filtration chamber. Clean cooking is harvested and compressed into gas cylinders. gaseous fuel through a thermal cracking process of distillation and compression that creates no emissions, residue, or pollution to the environment. The gas is again compressed in 50kg gas cylinders and transported to different community kitchens in Kenya. Our process and product have been certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA).

Our typical end user is an 18-40-year-old woman, mostly a stay-at-home mom, with a high school level education living in a two-roomed house in a low-income area with an average occupancy of 5 people and working in the informal sector mostly operating small grocery kiosks. They earn an average of $2-$3 a day. Our beachhead market consists of about 400,000 households in Nairobi where about 75% of the population lives on under $2 a day. Mega Gas improves the lives of the host communities in the following ways:

• Increased Access to Clean Cooking Energy: Mega Gas has successfully provided clean and affordable cooking energy to over 60,000 households, improving indoor air quality and reducing health risks associated with traditional biomass fuels.
• Environmental Impact: Through our innovative process of converting plastic waste into clean cooking gas, Mega Gas has mitigated over 495 tons of CO2 emissions monthly, contributing to environmental sustainability.
• Economic Resilience: Beneficiary households have reported significant cost savings on cooking fuel expenses, allowing them to allocate resources to other essential needs such as healthcare, education, and livelihoods.
• Community Empowerment: Mega Gas community kitchens have empowered women entrepreneurs to generate additional income and build sustainable businesses, fostering economic growth and social cohesion. We also work with 100 women waste pickers who collect plastic waste on our behalf, helping them earn a consistent and predictable source of income.
• Plastic waste reduction: Mega Gas currently recycles about 114 tons of plastic waste each month, making sure that the waste does not end up in our ecosystem hence protecting life below water and life on land. Man-made pollution of fragile ecosystems and natural habitats critical to smallholders deprives them of their main livelihoods. Polluted water sources become unusable for crop farming, livestock keeping, and irrigation. Plastic pollution in particular deprives smallholders as plastic waste clogs water sources and waterways reducing the amount of water available to smallholders. This is why the elimination of this menace is not just critical to our mission of delivering clean cooking gas, but we see it as a long-term practical solution able to neutralize threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services. A thriving bio-diverse environment means a thriving crop and livestock production which in turn translates to better, sustainable incomes for smallholders.

Please watch a customer testimonial: 

Margaret Wanjiku, the Head of Business Development, and Peter Njeri, the Team Lead, both have personal ties to Soweto Village in Nairobi. Margaret has lived in Soweto Village for most of her life, allowing her to intimately understand the structural and social complexities of the challenges faced by the community. Growing up in the area has provided her with firsthand knowledge of the issues related to indoor air pollution and plastic waste. Similarly, Peter Njeri our CEO was born and raised in Soweto Village, experiencing environmental and social challenges from a young age. His upbringing in the community has given him a deep understanding of the specific problems associated with indoor air pollution and plastic waste accumulation. This personal connection to the community has shaped his passion and commitment to finding sustainable solutions to these issues.

Margaret Wanjiku and Peter Njeri's intimate connection to Soweto has significantly influenced the design of Mega Gas's community kitchens model, pricing strategies, and other aspects of the initiative. Their deep understanding of the structural and social dynamics of the community's challenges has been instrumental in shaping the approach taken by Mega Gas. We ensure community ownership by: 

1. Community Engagement: Margaret and Peter's local roots have facilitated meaningful engagement with the community. They have been able to build trust and rapport with community members, fostering open communication and collaboration. This has allowed Mega Gas to gather valuable insights into the specific needs and preferences of the community, which have informed the design of the community kitchens model.

2. Tailored Solutions: With their firsthand experience of the challenges faced by the community, Margaret and Peter have been able to design solutions that are tailored to address the unique circumstances of Soweto Village. This includes considering factors such as household income levels, cooking habits, and existing infrastructure constraints when designing the community kitchens and determining pricing strategies.

3. Affordability and Accessibility: Understanding the economic realities of the community, Margaret and Peter have prioritized affordability and accessibility in the design of Mega Gas's offerings. The pricing of clean cooking gas and the establishment of community kitchens have been structured to ensure that they are accessible to low-income households in Soweto Village, thereby maximizing their impact on the community's health and well-being.

4. Sustainability: Margaret and Peter's local knowledge has also influenced the sustainability aspect of Mega Gas's initiatives. Their understanding of the environmental challenges, such as plastic waste pollution, has guided the organization's efforts to incorporate sustainable practices into its operations, such as the use of recycled plastic waste to produce clean cooking gas.

5.  The management team has a combined work experience of 20 years spanning industrial chemistry, structural, mechanical, and chemical engineering, business development, and computer science. The team has been awarded and profiled across the globe for this innovation, winning accolades such as the UN WFP innovation bootcamp in Germany, the Canadian government-funded Afri-plastics challenge ( Top 3 in Africa), the Newton Prize for Engineering 2020, Global Citizen Grand Prize 2023, Germany Energy Dena Top 3 globally, among others.   

Over the past seven years, we have made significant strides in developing and advancing our clean cooking gas solution. Our Feasibility studies conducted from 2017 to 2019 provided the groundwork for the subsequent pilot phase from 2019 to 2021. Our Pilot phase was conducted at the Chandaria Business Innovation and Incubation Center.  With support from the Newton fund, we built our first MVP, serving approximately 2,000 families monthly. In 2021, a grant from the AfriPlastics Challenge enabled us to establish a production facility recycling 14 tons of plastic waste daily capacity and serving 5,200 people per month at a community kitchen in Soweto village. Further funding from the Royal Government of Canada in 2022 increased the production capacity to an average of 114 tons of plastic waste per month. Currently, Mega Gas serves over 60,000 families monthly, with an average family size of six members, and has opened another community kitchen in Nairobi. Our commitment to sustainable waste management and clean cooking energy has propelled our initiative forward, positively impacting communities and the environment in Kenya. 

The Solve program has a long-established tradition of bringing together innovators in clean technologies from across the world which as a stand-alone project we cannot be able to forge. We intend to leverage this value addition to work with other Innovators brought by our mutual affiliation to the Solve program. Secondly, our scaling plan is anchored on:

1. Growing our Production capacity

2. Hiring

3. Digitization and automation

We believe that with mentorship from industry experts and leaders, we will have exposure to great insights that will help Mega Gas scale. We are keen on delivering a meaningful impact on climate goals by decarbonizing household energy needs using affordable and clean alternatives that discourage practices such as fuel stacking where families use charcoal or wood as a backup fuel source. While this is our goal, we do it in a way that creates and protects jobs, incomes, and more critically biodiversity and all ecosystem services. In doing this, we see a convergence with the Solve program and are particularly excited by an opportunity to submit our business to outside scrutiny for guidance, mentorship, and support, especially with an organization that identifies with our mission.

Mega Gas faces the following barriers:

1. Demographic and cultural barriers – by and large, we have observed that the older our customers are the more likely they are to be unwilling to change from fuels they are accustomed to such as charcoal. Others have cultural myths that food cooked over gas tastes worse than that cooked over charcoal or wood.
2. Geographic barriers – the further away our customer lives from our community kitchen the harder it is for them to adopt our gas. 
3. Logistical barriers - our community kitchen is targeted at households in low-income areas. These areas are mostly infrastructure with very poor roads high population densities and congested homes. Delivering our gas carried by hand in such conditions can be a logistical nightmare, especially navigating narrow, flooded roads. 

We hope the Solve program will help us solve the above barriers, with proper coaching and mentorship we will co-create solutions and ensure that Mega Gas scales. 

There are two kinds of existing solutions, Conventional solutions, and traditional solutions. Conventional such as LPG gas in the market is very expensive e.g. the average 6 kg gas costs about $12 while we sell the same amount of gas at $4 which is affordable to most Kenyans. We are different from the traditional solutions e.g. firewood and charcoal because gas is clean i.e. causes no indoor pollution. Our gas is also cheaper and has a higher calorific value (Burns faster and longer). Our community kitchen delivery method is also unique to us, and the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan AfricaMega Gas is derived from plastics which are a nuisance to the local community. We collect and convert it into clean cooking gas and sell it back to the community, creating jobs and a better environment. Charcoal, wood, and LPG gas are however derived from finite resources and vulnerable ecosystems putting communities at risk. While competing solutions drive the demand for fossil fuels up, Mega Gas drives this demand down and brings about a paradigm shift in how our energy needs are met. Unlike LPG gas, Mega Gas does not have the risk of explosion. 

Mega Gas fits into the broader industrial context by helping meet our customers' energy needs of today without the resultant pressure that the alternative sources of fuel like LPG or charcoal put on the volatile ecosystems. We are helping drive the demand for fossil fuels down while elevating a cleaner alternative and bringing conversations about the climate crisis, environmental stewardship, and waste management to the center of local community life. The Mega Gas Community Kitchen model plays a crucial role in injecting clean cooking energy into Kenya and potentially reducing the prices of LPG and other products. Operating multiple community kitchens allows Mega Gas to benefit from economies of scale in production, distribution, and maintenance. This efficiency can drive down overall operational costs, enabling the company to offer competitive prices for its clean cooking energy products.

The Key Outcomes include:

• Increased Access to Clean Cooking Energy: Mega Gas has successfully provided clean and affordable cooking energy to over 60,000 households, improving indoor air quality and reducing health risks associated with traditional biomass fuels.
• Environmental Impact: Through our innovative process of converting plastic waste into clean cooking gas, Mega Gas has mitigated over 495 tons of CO2 emissions monthly, contributing to environmental sustainability.
• Economic Resilience: Beneficiary households have reported significant cost savings on cooking fuel expenses, allowing them to allocate resources to other essential needs such as healthcare, education, and livelihoods.
• Community Empowerment: Mega Gas community kitchens have empowered women entrepreneurs to generate additional income and build sustainable businesses, fostering economic growth and social cohesion. We also work with 100 women waste pickers who collect plastic waste on our behalf, helping them earn a consistent and predictable source of income.
• Plastic waste reduction: Mega Gas currently recycles about 114 tons of plastic waste each month, making sure that the waste does not end up in our ecosystem hence protecting life below water and life on land. Man-made pollution of fragile ecosystems and natural habitats critical to smallholders deprives them of their main livelihoods. Polluted water sources become unusable for crop farming, livestock keeping, and irrigation. Plastic pollution in particular deprives smallholders as plastic waste clogs water sources and waterways reducing the amount of water available to smallholders. This is why the elimination of this menace is not just critical to our mission of delivering clean cooking gas, but we see it as a long-term practical solution able to neutralize threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services. A thriving bio-diverse environment means a thriving crop and livestock production which in turn translates to better, sustainable incomes for smallholders.

Mega Gas is strongly committed to empowering women and maximizing our impact on social metrics within the communities we serve. Currently, we engage with 10 women groups that collectively collect just over 100 tons of plastic waste each month. Additionally, we distribute clean cooking gas to approximately 60,000 families monthly through a network of women-owned businesses in the target community. Our approach involves not only supporting women in collecting and selling plastics but also offering them opportunities to take on more challenging and better-paying roles within our value chain. By encouraging their involvement in various aspects of our operations, we aim to increase their income and enhance their overall well-being, including their families' health and education. Through our internship program, we are actively recruiting and absorbing female engineers, empowering them to contribute to our innovative solutions. Furthermore, our commitment to gender diversity is reflected in our leadership team, with one woman serving as a co-founder and three others holding top leadership positions within the company.

1. Provide clean cooking energy access to 400,000 low-income households in Kenya within the next five years, helping them transition to clean cooking experience. 

2. Reduce indoor air pollution-related health issues by 90% among households using Mega Gas clean cooking energy.

3. Prevent 45,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually through the adoption of clean cooking energy solutions.

4. Recycle up to 760 tons of plastic waste each month.

5. Create about 1,000 jobs both directly and indirectly. 

Measuring Progress:

1. Number of households served: Track the number of households benefiting from Mega Gas's clean cooking energy solutions, aiming to reach 400,000 by 2030.
2. Health Impact Assessment: Conduct regular health assessments among households using Mega Gas clean cooking energy to monitor reductions in respiratory illnesses and other indoor air pollution-related health issues.
3. CO2 Emissions Reduction: Utilize  Impact forecast (impactforecast.com) to quantify the amount of CO2 emissions prevented annually by comparing emissions from traditional cooking methods with those from Mega Gas clean cooking energy solutions.
4. Amount of plastic waste recycled: Use the records from our plastic waste aggregation center and our production facility records. 
5. Job created: Use our HR records to see the growth of our team working full-time, part-time, consultants, and those employed indirectly. 

Our innovation is a plastic waste-to-clean cooking gas solution dubbed “Mega Gas”. We aggregate and collect plastic waste from households and landfills then convert it into a clean cooking gas through a patented thermal cracking process and resell it back to the community using a distribution network of women entrepreneurs. Our customers access our clean cooking gas primarily through our community kitchens powered by renewable energy, where they pay $0.02 to cook for one hour. The Mega Gas Community Kitchen Model is an innovative approach to distributing and utilizing clean cooking gas within communities. Our model is designed to provide low-income households access to affordable and environmentally friendly cooking solutions. This model establishes a central community kitchen to serve multiple households. Instead of each household individually acquiring and managing their gas supply, the community shares access to a centralized cooking facility. The community kitchen has modern and efficient cooking appliances powered by Mega Gas's clean cooking gas. This centralized approach allows for the optimization of gas usage and ensures that the energy is utilized effectively. Beyond cooking, the community kitchen serves as a social hub, fostering community interactions and engagement. It becomes a space for shared activities, collaboration, and information dissemination. Megagas Alternative Energy revolutionizes clean cooking access for low-income communities through innovative PAYGO technology. Utilizing a Mega Gas Wallet, families save and seamlessly pay for our recycled plastic-based cooking gas via mobile, fostering affordability and convenience. The PAYGO system extends to community kitchens, allowing users to access gas effortlessly. The Mega Gas Wallet also promotes communal savings, forming groups for bulk cooking ventures. Our strategic collaboration with Duhqa adds another layer, transforming our community kitchens into accessible retail points. Through this synergy, Mega Gas empowers communities economically and transforms clean cooking into a holistic, community-building experience.

Serving over 60,000 people is indeed a significant demonstration of the effectiveness of our technology. This large user base reflects the practical application and positive impact of our solution in real-world settings. Additionally, receiving prestigious awards serves as external validation and recognition of the quality and innovation of our technology. These accolades highlight the credibility and reliability of our solution, further reinforcing its effectiveness. Moreover, the fact that referrals constitute our main source of marketing underscores the satisfaction and confidence of our clients in our technology. When clients refer friends, it signifies their trust in the solution and their belief in its ability to address their needs effectively. Word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied customers serve as powerful endorsements and contribute to the widespread adoption of our technology. 

Mega Gas has received support from local and international organizations to scale our operations. For example:

1. $100,000 grant from Global Citizen - 2023
2. $500,000 grant from the Royal Government of Canada - 2022
3. $50,000 Seed funding grant from the Royal Academy of Engineering - 2019
4. $50,000 convertible note from an angel investor - 2019
5. Expo Live Dubai Grant 2024
6. $10,000 Prize money after winning the 2023, Dena, Germany Energy Agency competition - 2023
7. $15,000 grant from Climate KIC - 2021
8. Equipment and In-kind support from Microsoft 2018
9. UN, WFP Support to scale - 2022

Grant awards from reputable organizations and victories in competitions indicate that experts and judges recognize the value and potential of our technology. These entities typically have rigorous selection processes, and being chosen as a recipient or winner reflects confidence in the viability and effectiveness of our solution. Success in grant competitions often involves showcasing the innovation, feasibility, and potential impact of our technology. Winning these competitions demonstrates that our solution stands out among competitors and offers unique advantages in addressing the identified problem or challenge.

The combination of a large user base, prestigious awards, and strong referral rates collectively serves as compelling evidence of the effectiveness of our technology. These factors validate the impact and success of our solution in addressing the needs of our target audience.

Full time - 14

part time 127

7 years

Implementing diversity and inclusion is an ongoing process, and it
requires a commitment from the entire organization to create a truly
inclusive workplace. Mega Gas does not discriminate against gender,
race or other demographics. We have a number of policies to make
this possible:
1. We have developed and communicated with our team a clear
diversity and inclusion policy that outlines the company's
commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace.
2. Together with our partners such as Challenge Works UK, we have
established diversity and inclusion goals and metrics to measure
progress towards those goals. This includes the number of women
we employ across the value chain.
3. Mega Gas recruits from a diverse pool of candidates and actively
seek out underrepresented groups in the hiring process. For
example, we work with women led community based organizations
who collect plastic waste on our behalf. Ourhead of plastic collection
and coordination has no formal education, this is encourage others
who are not educated that they are welcome to work
4. As highlighted earlier, we have 2 women in top management in our
company. We ensure that the company's leadership and
management team is diverse and representative of the company's
workforce.

I consider Mega Gas a living organism where we gather information
from the community regarding the evolving nature of their socio-economic circumstances and their interaction with our product. We
work closely with the community to co-create solutions in a way that
is collaborative and entrenches community ownership. For example,
when we were setting up the community kitchen, we worked with
members of the Soweto community to:
1. Come to an affordable price for them
2. Set up locations for accessibility ease
Our kitchens are manned by women from the communities we serve. We also work with waste pickers from these communities, and we
pay them market rates. They can also exchange their plastic waste
for our gas. We also provide our waste pickers with PPEs helping
them to stay safe as they pick waste from landfills.
My leadership approach is to equip our hires both from within and
outside the community with relevant skills in preparation for more
demanding roles at our organization.

Our customers utilize Mega Gas's community kitchens by paying a nominal fee of around $0.2 per hour. This option provides flexibility and reduces upfront
costs for customers who may not be able to afford to purchase gas cylinders initially. By paying for the time they need, customers can enjoy the benefits of clean cooking energy without the burden of owning their gas cylinders. Our customers find our prices very affordable and this is evidenced by the fact that customer referral is the most effective channel that has helped us to grow our customer base.
The pricing strategy for Mega Gas's clean cooking service is designed to align with the current spending patterns of target customers while also considering
their willingness to pay for the offered services. Target customers, such as low-income households in urban areas of Kenya, currently spend a significant
portion of their income on traditional cooking fuels like charcoal or firewood. Mega Gas aims to offer its clean cooking solution at a price point that is
competitive with these traditional fuels, making the transition to clean energy financially feasible for customers. Additionally, Mega Gas considers the long-term savings and benefits that its clean cooking service provides to customers. By switching to clean cooking gas, customers can reduce their spending on traditional fuels over time. Mega Gas calculates the payback time of its clean cooking service by comparing the initial investment required for installation and setup with the ongoing savings in fuel costs. This payback time is typically 4 and a half months, making the transition to clean cooking financially attractive for customers in the long run.
To set our pricing, we usually create a design thinking approach where we meet with our target customers in focus groups and in their groups popularly known as chamaas. 

Our strategy involves sourcing grant and seed funding to secure an 18 to 24-month runway, allowing us to optimize production and operations and reach break-even. Subsequently, our sales revenue will cover expenses and generate profits for reinvestment, reducing dependence on grant support and ensuring long-term business sustainability. Our vision for scaling is to grow commercially through a combination of earned revenue, strategic partnerships, and operational efficiency to deliver our gas to millions to the last mile. With an initial target customer base of 80,000 households in Nairobi, we hope to generate recurring revenue from new and returning customers to help us grow. Our profit projections show that with this number of customers, we will be making a net revenue of $3 million per year. We also hope to partner with local businesses and companies with a more robust physical presence and distribution network than Mega Gas. For example, Mega Gas can partner with a local distributor like COPIA which is focused on the last mile to deliver our gas to customers in areas less served by traditional distribution networks. With 70% of the Kenyan population currently using biomass fuels, we will be able to reach millions with our solution within a shorter time frame. Market conditions such as the trend towards a more climate-conscious populace will work to our advantage. Policies that suppress the demand for fossil fuels and biomass will also push customers towards cleaner alternatives such as Mega Gas. 

We have made great progress with our plan, we have raised over $800,000 through grants and competition and we have also signed strategic partnerships with the UN, the World Food Programme, and Duhqa to strengthen our community kitchens, positioning them to scale. 

Other strategies to usher us into sustainability include: 

1. Diversifying Revenue Streams: We aim to generate revenue through the sale of our clean cooking gas to households, businesses, and institutions. Additionally, we offer consulting services on clean energy solutions and provide training programs related to sustainable energy practices. By diversifying our revenue streams, we can mitigate risks associated with dependence on a single source of income. 

2. Strategic Partnerships: We are actively seeking partnerships with corporate entities, NGOs, and government agencies that align with our mission and can provide funding or in-kind support for our projects. These partnerships may involve joint ventures, co-development agreements, or sponsorship arrangements.

3. Social Impact Investment: We are exploring opportunities to attract social impact investors who are interested in supporting ventures that generate positive social and environmental outcomes while also delivering financial returns. These investors may provide equity or debt financing to support our growth and expansion plans.