Developing Markets: Council Holds Regional Clean Cooking Symposium In Kenya

Last week, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) organized a clean cooking symposium in Nairobi, Kenya to connect with local industry leaders and policymakers about the environmental and human health benefits of cooking with biofuels when compared to other traditional fuel sources.

The seminar attracted more than 30 attendees from across East Africa to discuss innovations in ethanol distribution, advancing cookstove technologies and streamlining consumer adoption.

“As African markets continue to develop, the Council believes there are opportunities in the clean cooking space that will create additional demand for U.S. ethanol while improving air quality in homes,” said Ramy H. Taieb, USGC regional director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Taieb welcomed participants to the conference and shared the Council’s outlook for clean cooking development on the continent.

“Ethanol cookstoves are providing a cleaner, safer and more efficient alternative that has the potential to revolutionize household energy use in Africa,” Taieb said.

Other topics covered during the morning session included a roadmap of Kenya’s adoption of clean cooking and a panel on trade regulations and private sector incentives with government officials from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda offering their perspectives. The Clean Cooking with Ethanol Regional East African Continent Symposium explored these opportunities and challenges with leading experts from across the region.

In the afternoon, attendees were treated to discussions on comparing clean cooking usage in urban and rural environments, the financial aspects of implementing clean cooking stoves and country-by-country breakdowns of current policies and their market developments.

“As suburban populations rise, we anticipate a corresponding growth in demand for ethanol for use in clean cooking, but domestic biofuel supplies in Africa remain low so there will be export opportunities for the U.S. ethanol industry,” Taieb said.

“The Council looks forward to engaging with Sub Saharan African logistics companies, energy and environmental stakeholders and consumers in the near future to position U.S. producers as the preferred provider of biofuels for clean cooking in the region.”

Learn more about the Council’s work in Africa here.