MIGA Fuels Clean Cooking Innovation in Kenya

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2025 – The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which houses the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, issued a guarantee of $179.6 million to cover investments by KOKO Networks Limited of Mauritius into KOKO Networks Limited of Kenya. The guarantee covers the risks of expropriation, war and civil disturbance, transfer restriction, and breach of contract for up to 15 years.    

KOKO owns and operates an innovative residential energy service in Kenya, supplying bioethanol-based cookstoves and cooking fuel to low-income households to drive the transition away from polluting and harmful fuels. Carbon credits that result from this energy transition are delivered as a non-government energy subsidy, enabling even the poorest households to switch. 

The use of charcoal, wood, and other biomass in Kenya contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and significant health risks from household air pollution. The project, aligned with the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan 2021-2025, supports the government of Kenya in expanding the distribution and use of clean cookstoves. This, in turn, helps improve public health and prevent deforestation with associated biodiversity and food security impacts. Additionally, the project is aligned with the low-carbon development and adaptation and climate resilience goals of the Paris Agreement. 

“KOKO showcases the transformative potential of innovative, private-sector-led solutions to address development challenges like energy access,” said Hiroshi Matano, MIGA Executive Vice President. “MIGA’s guarantee will enable KOKO to expand its clean cooking solutions in Kenya, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the livelihoods of lower-income households through access to affordable, renewable energy.”  

KOKO has scaled rapidly since its commercial launch in 2019 in Kenya and now supplies over 1.3 million homes with sustainable bioethanol cooking fuel distribution through a dense network of 3,000 high-tech KOKO Fuel ATMs located inside corner shops across low-income neighborhoods. Most shops are owned and operated by female entrepreneurs who partner with KOKO to earn a new source of income. 

KOKO sources bioethanol cooking fuel made from sugarcane by-products to reduce carbon emissions by replacing charcoal and firewood sourced from deforestation. Switching households from deforestation fuels reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the impact of KOKO’s activities certified by Gold Standard in accordance with a United Nations methodology and resulting in the generation of approximately 6 million tons of carbon credits annually. The revenues from carbon credits are used to fund significant upfront and ongoing non-government consumer energy subsidies. 

“We are pleased to have the backing of MIGA’s guarantees as we continue to deliver on our mission,” said Greg Murray, KOKO’s CEO and co-founder. “We operate in the highly regulated energy and compliance carbon sectors and are therefore exposed to significant political risk. MIGA’s guarantees have enabled risk-exposed energy infrastructure to be built in emerging markets for over 40 years, and we are proud to be the first MIGA policy covering the unique political risks associated with the Paris Agreement carbon markets.” 

MIGA’s breach of contract coverage protects KOKO’s carbon credits against the risk of host governments failing to uphold their legally binding commitments, including the provision of corresponding adjustments under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This coverage is crucial as KOKO’s carbon credits target compliance markets aligned with Article 6, where buyers, such as airline operators under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), are required to purchase correspondingly adjusted carbon credits. 

About KOKO 

KOKO is a climate technology company focused on accelerating the energy transition in Africa, protecting forests, and transforming lives. KOKO operates bioethanol cooking fuel services in Kenya and Rwanda, supplying mass-market households with ultra-clean fuel and replacing demand for dirty fuels such as deforestation-based charcoal. Compliance carbon markets provide a non-government energy subsidy, enabling even the poorest households to transition. KOKO was founded in 2014, is backed by a wide range of environmental investors including Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund and was recognized by the Financial Times and International Finance Corporation in 2021 as the world’s leading emerging markets climate technology solution. For more information, visit www.kokonetworks.com. 

About the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform    

Initiated in 2024, the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform consolidates guarantee products and experts from across the World Bank Group at MIGA. It provides a simplified and comprehensive menu of guarantee solutions, enabling clients to select the instrument that best suits their needs. The platform streamlines processes, removes redundancies, and provides greater accessibility by de-risking investments in developing countries. Its goal is to boost the World Bank Group’s annual guarantee issuance to $20 billion by 2030.     

For more information about the guarantee platform, please visit: https://www.worldbank.org/wbgguarantees

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Contact:    

In Washington: Elizabeth Howton, (202) 458-5922 or ehowton@worldbankgroup.org