5 Star Stoves - Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda

5 Star Stoves is a vertically integrated clean cooking company offering a service solution to the energy poor household. People in Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda can own their own 5 Star Stove franchises and pay them off via mobile phone. 5 Star Stoves provides technical support to these local energy franchises to ensure a successful business.

Key facts:

This activity estimates that the carbon reduction per stove per year should be between two to three tonnes of CO2;
One kilogram of waste biomass pellets could replace four kilograms of firewood, reducing deforestation in communities.

The problem

Household air pollution is extremely harmful to people's health. Many households in developing countries use traditional methods of cooking which emits smoke and increases the risk for carbon monoxide poisoning and inhalation of particulate matter.

The solution

5 Star Stoves provides a solution in the form of a micro gasification stove that has been laboratory tested and has a 99% combustion efficiency. These stoves are self-contained units and are powerful enough to cook large traditional dishes. Small-scale farmers bring in agricultural waste biomass to their local 5 Star Stoves franchise. Using waste biomass is sustainable as it reduces deforestation in the community and provides extra income to farmers. The waste biomass is pulverized, dried, made into small pellets, bagged and distributed to 5 Star Ladies who sell the final product to their community to earn an extra income.

Helping the planet

This activity wants to take pressure off of natural woodlands. One kilogram of pellet fuel made from agricultural and forestry biomass waste could replace four kilograms of firewood. That is enough pellets to support the average family and save trees that would end up as firewood or charcoal.

Helping people

This activity target households in urban slums, in informal houses around industrial centers and in the peri-urban belts around large wood and charcoal burning cities. When families switch to a 5 Star Stove from a local 5 Star Lady, they save time and money Save time to wash pots, saving detergent and water. As part of our value proposition is that we can price our cost to cook per day competitively against all the energy incumbents and so offer the family real savings, with a much more effective cooking device.

Scaling Up

5 Star Stoves has investment ready options for qualified entrepreneurs in Uganda, Kenya, Swaziland and Bangladesh. Their manufacturing options can travel easily as the components of franchises can be assembled on site should there be no local infrastructure or industry. Waste biomass can be found anywhere there are small-scale farmers. Their mobile phone payment system keeps the franchises cashless and all 5 Star Ladies out of harm’s way from the risk of robbery.