Nov 25

Nov 25 Bboxx and USAID partner to expand clean cooking access and reduce charcoal use in the DRC

Bboxx and USAID partner to expand clean cooking access and reduce charcoal use in the DRC.png

Today, Bboxx—a next-generation utility—held an event to showcase its LPG technology and new partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) at the Pullman Hotel in Kinshasa, to expand clean cooking access in the DRC.

The event was attended by the Ministers of Environment and Energy, USAID Mission Director Paul Sabatine, and Kandeh Yumkella (a leading global voice on clean cooking, former United Nations Under Secretary General). At the event, Bboxx demonstrated its LPG technology using PayGo Energy Cylinder Smart Meter, connected to Bboxx Pulse®, its IoT technology-enabled comprehensive management platform, which means Bboxx can remotely monitor, manage and deliver clean cooking solutions in a distributed and scalable model.

Connected to the gas canister, this smart meter remotely monitors gas flow, gas remaining in the canister, and cooking credit— in real-time. The time-lapsed user data collected as customers cook helps Bboxx better understand customer needs and consumption patterns, and it allows USAID’s Gas is an Affordable Alternative to Charcoal Project team to effectively monitor emissions.

USAID’s Pay As You Go Liquid Petroleum Gas Program recently awarded a grant to Bboxx to test and scale up this new technology. Over the next three years, this funding—which is made possible due to the support of the American people—will enable Bboxx to provide 15,000 households and small businesses in Goma with clean and affordable cooking alternatives.

Meeting UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 includes clean and affordable cooking for everyone – and in the DRC, just 4% of the population has access1. Helping DRC shift to clean cooking will dramatically improve the health of communities (SDG 3) in Eastern DRC and advance gender equality by enhancing economic opportunities for women (SDG 5).

Through their new partnership, USAID and Bboxx ultimately aim to reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing the consumption of charcoal used for cooking. Displacing charcoal use will directly benefit the South Sector of Virunga National Park in the DRC, where charcoal production is currently responsible for around 91 percent of deforestation.

Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and Co-Founder of Bboxx, commented: “Accelerating UN SDG 7 – clean energy for all – requires rapid progress on access to energy for clean cooking. It is unacceptable that four billion people across the globe still live without clean cooking facilities2. This issue is too often overlooked and is harming the environment, people’s health and economic opportunities.

“We are passionate about the role of innovative technology and LPG in making significant progress in tackling this major global crisis. To make meaningful headway, it is vital to work with partners across the globe. We are honoured to be partnering with USAID to put this mission into action in the DRC, as we continue to transform lives and unlock potential through access to clean energy.”