UpEnergy Group - Uganda
High dependency on wood for cooking fuel coupled with inefficient cooking methods has contributed significantly to the country’s alarming deforestation rate and high death toll due to indoor air pollution.
The Problem
Uganda is a land-locked country of 35 million people. In rural areas, 96% of households continue to use traditional mode of cooking which causes an estimated 20,000 deaths per year from indoor air pollution and requires that women and girls spend hours a week collecting and carrying firewood. In urban areas, approximately 1 million households spend up to 30% of their income purchasing charcoal for use in unimproved charcoal stoves, which emit hazardous levels of carbon monoxide.
Source: http://cleancookstoves.org/resources_files/uganda-market-assessment-mapping.pdf
UpEnergy's Solution
UpEnergy Group aims to deliver energy-efficient cookstoves to 125,000 low-income households in Uganda by 2017, thereby serving 1,000,000 people. In the process, they intend to grow into the premier commercial distributor of clean energy solutions to underserved communities in Uganda.
Press Release - UpEnergy Closes New Debt Investment, providing working and growth capital for Uganda operations
Global HearthWorks provides low-interest debt financing to UpEnergy Group, a Ugandan social enterprise committed to expanding the delivery of clean and affordable household energy products — primarily improved cookstoves, as well as water filters and solar lights — to low-income communities across Uganda. Read more....
UpEnergy Uganda: Stories from the Frontline
From UpEnergy Uganda Country Director, Mark Mutaahi
I first met Aaron Okello when he picked me up from the Kampala city center last year on his boda, the ubiquitous motorcycle taxis in Kampala. I briefly explained my work in Uganda, selling wood‐efficient stoves for UpEnergy. Aaron jumped on the opportunity telling me he would be more than happy to market the stoves... Read more: UpEnergy Uganda: Stories from the Frontline