Anega Energies Manufacturing - Plan International Ethiopia

Investing in Impact

Key achievements during funding period:

• Manufactured 100 fan-forced institutional cookstoves and installed units across 13 Addis Ababa schools, supporting clean cooking for school feeding programs serving more than 15,600 students.

• Produced five tons of fuel pellets and aligned production with school deployment cycles to ensure just-in-time supply despite limited storage capacity.

• Launched household market entry by selling more than 800 household charcoal cookstoves through direct retail engagement in Addis Ababa.

• Established 20 youth green business groups with 100 youth members and provided soft skills and life skills training to support entrepreneurship and green job readiness.

• Strengthened market access through five savings and credit cooperatives (SACCO) partnerships, three approved kiosk locations and planned expansion into Dire Dawa and Bahir Dar.

• Developed the CookSmart School App to digitize stove use, pellet consumption, meal counts and performance monitoring for stronger evidence generation and carbon-credit readiness.

• Avoided over 2,540 metric tons in CO₂ emissions.

P4G awarded the partnership around US $142,000 in grant funding. 

Ethiopia's heavy reliance on solid fuels like wood, charcoal and crop residues for cooking and heating creates severe environmental and health issues. Traditional methods contribute to deforestation, indoor air pollution and over 60,000 preventable deaths annually, disproportionately affecting women and children. With 90% of the population affected, an estimated 25 million households urgently need cleaner cooking solutions.

Anega Energies Manufacturing (AEM) – Plan International Ethiopia addressed this crisis by providing affordable and efficient clean cooking technologies. The partnership implemented an integrated model of clean cookstoves, fuel pellets and biochar recycling, which began with a successful pilot in Addis Ababa. 

This system features the Quayton cookstove, a locally manufactured, fan-forced stove designed for efficiency and can be powered by rechargeable batteries compatible with wall outlets and solar panels. The fuel pellets, made from waste materials like coffee grounds and sawdust, provide a clean, high-energy solution with minimal emissions. 

The products are distributed through a network of local distributors, community organizations and direct sales efforts, ensuring wide accessibility across both urban and rural areas. Moreover, the stove produces biochar as a byproduct, which users are encouraged to return through AEM’s biochar buyback program. This biochar is repurposed as a soil enhancer, improving agricultural yields and supporting carbon sequestration, creating a circular economy that benefits both the environment and local communities.

Recognized globally for its grassroots innovation, AEM was named one of the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP’s) six best grassroot energy companies for its clean energy solutions. 

Central to AEM’s mission is empowering women in the energy sector. By involving women throughout the value chain – from production to distribution – AEM will economic opportunities and championing gender equality. Women comprise 35% of management, 40% of the workforce and 33% of ownership at AEM. AEM also engages unemployed and disadvantaged youth in waste biomass collection, pre-processing and distribution, equipping them with skills for green jobs.

Plan International Ethiopia helped develop a green business model that included disadvantaged and unemployed youth in waste biomass collection and pre-processing for fuel pellet production. Plan International Ethiopia also collaborated with AEM on marketing, community engagement and policy advocacy to enhance the acceleration and accessibility of clean cooking solutions. Plan International Ethiopia’s extensive expertise in development and humanitarian work ensured that the partnership delivered measurable and sustainable results, both locally and nationally.

During the 2025–2026 funding period, Anega Energies Manufacturing made significant progress in moving its clean cooking model from pilot implementation toward a more structured pathway for institutional and household scale-up. The company strengthened its implementation base by forming strategic partnerships with vocational training colleges and GIZ Ethiopia to support clean-cooking solutions within school-feeding operations. Early production efforts laid the foundation for this expansion, beginning with 300 charcoal stoves, 35 institutional cookstoves and two tons of pellets. 

As the partnership progressed, institutional stove production increased substantially, reaching 100 units, of which 13 had already been installed in Addis Ababa schools. These installations support clean cooking school feeding programs that benefit more than 15,600 students, demonstrating the practical value of locally manufactured clean cooking technologies in public service settings. Pellet production reached five tons and was deliberately synchronized with school deployment cycles because of limited storage capacity, ensuring that fuel supply remained closely aligned with actual demand. At the same time, Anega entered the household retail market by launching its first line of household stoves and selling more than 800 units in Addis Ababa.

Alongside production and early market entry, Anega advanced the distribution and visibility systems needed for future growth. The startup secured three kiosk locations that will serve as sales, demonstration and customer engagement points once fully operational. It also showcased its clean cooking products at the African Climate Summit 2, raising the profile of the partnership among policymakers, investors and climate technology stakeholders. Distribution planning continued beyond Addis Ababa, with Dire Dawa and Bahir Dar identified as priority markets for future expansion once production capacity increases. 

To strengthen monitoring and evidence generation, Anega began developing a digital application designed to capture kitchen performance data, streamline field monitoring and support future carbon-credit readiness. The CookSmart School app allows cooks to log stove use, pellet consumption, cooking duration and number of meals served, replacing paper-based reporting. The draft version is being tested in pilot schools and will be rolled out during the next installation wave.

The partnership also began collecting user feedback from cooks and savings and credit cooperative organizations (SACCO) operators, with plans to integrate these insights into a digital monitoring and evaluation dashboard within the application.

The partnership also contributed to the enabling environment for clean cooking in Ethiopia by generating evidence and policy-relevant analysis. A Geographic Information System-based model was developed to estimate the national co-benefits of clean cooking adoption, helping to illustrate how cleaner technologies can support health, environmental and economic outcomes at scale.

In addition, the partnership prepared a policy and regulatory guidance brief “Reclaiming Clean Cooking: From Orphanhood to Institutional Mandate in Ethiopia” to inform government planning and identify practical pathways for strengthening the clean cooking sector. Public awareness efforts complemented this policy work, including a campaign through the Ethiopian news outlet The Reporter, which highlighted the economic, health and environmental consequences of traditional fuel use. 

Moreover, Plan International Ethiopia successfully organized 20 youth business groups comprising a total of 100 youth members selected from various sub-cities of Addis Ababa. These groups were formed to promote youth economic empowerment and entrepreneurship. To strengthen their engagement and participation in the project, all youth members received comprehensive training in soft skills and life skills, equipping them with essential competencies for personal development, teamwork and business readiness.

Lessons Learned

• Local partnerships with education bureaus, SACCOs, cooperatives and development partners are critical for moving from pilot implementation to scalable market systems.

• Import delays and customs procedures can significantly affect production timelines, making local sourcing, inventory planning and policy engagement important risk-management strategies.

• Policy advocacy is strongest when supported by real-world performance data showing health, cost, time-saving and environmental benefits.

The partnership comprised the following partners: Anega Energies Manufacturing (lead business partner); Plan International Ethiopia (lead administrative partner).