Project Description
On March 14, 2025, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, issued a guarantee amounting to USD179.64 million to KOKO Networks Limited of Mauritius (KOKO) to cover its equity investment into KOKO Networks Limited in Kenya (KOKO Kenya or the Project Company), against the risks of Transfer Restriction, Expropriation, War and Civil Disturbance and Breach of Contract, for a period of up to 15 years.
The project consists of the operation of clean cooking fuel utility businesses in Kenya through the promotion and distribution of bioethanol-based cookstoves and bioethanol cooking fuel to households, through small and medium-sized enterprises, along with the associated generation and monetization of carbon credits. Since its commercial launch in Kenya in 2019, KOKO has reached a customer base of more than 1 million households and implemented about 4,000 KOKOPoints. KOKOPoints are high-tech cloud connected fuel automated teller machines, strategically located in 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. By 2027, KOKO is planning to expand its operation in Kenya to serve an additional 3 million households nationwide. KOKO’s cookstoves and canisters are manufactured by SAARUS, a product design and manufacturing company headquartered in India, acquired by KOKO in 2018. For the procurement of bioethanol, KOKO Kenya has a supply agreement with Vivo Energy, a reputable fuel provider in Africa.
KOKO’s project leverages technology and climate finance, using carbon credits as non- government energy subsidy, to significantly lower the price of the cookstoves and the bioethanol fuel, enabling even the poorest households to switch to a cleaner fuel, hence improving public health by reducing exposure to household air pollutants. This project marks MIGA’s first-ever policy insuring political risks linked to Paris Agreement carbon markets.
Environmental and Social Categorization
The Project is a Category B under MIGA’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability (2013). Click here to view the Environmental and Social Review Summary.
Development Impact
The Project is expected to (i) expand access to clean cooking at affordable prices for lower-income households in Kenya; (ii) reduce GHG emissions and improve biodiversity by displacing polluting fuel sources such as charcoal, firewood, and kerosene; (iii) demonstrate the commercial viability of inclusive business models; and (iv) showcase innovative financial solutions by utilizing MIGA’s BOC cover for carbon credit-related investment agreements which will ensure financial sustainability.
MIGA’s BOC cover protects KOKO’s carbon credits against the risk of host government failing to uphold its legally binding commitments, including corresponding adjustments under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This coverage enables KOKO to access compliance carbon markets including the buyers under CORSIA (the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) scheme, enhancing financial sustainability and further reducing the costs of fuel and stoves. KOKO’s carbon credits, generated.
