Market Landscape for Improved Cookstoves in Mozambique
Introduction
In Mozambique, less than 5% of the population have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies in 2019[1]. Thus, there is an enormous opportunity for clean cooking solutions in Mozambique. The impacts of traditional biomass for cooking are not limited to health problems, deforestation, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but also the inefficient cookstoves keeps the person cooking (usually women) from performing other activities, such as working or studying, due to long cooking periods and the time needed to collect firewood or purchase charcoal. Additionally, a more efficient cookstoves reduces the fuel amount needed to cook a meal, thus reducing fuel costs[2].
The Mozambican cookstove market is currently at a nascent stage and is driven by donor initiatives that are focused on creating a cookstoves markets. Thus, there is a need and opportunity for private sector participation in moving the market forward. This article outlines the cookstove market in Mozambique i.e. actors involved, potential market size as well as challenges and opportunities for the private sector. This market assessment is targeted at private sector, donor organisations and other key stakeholders who are interested/active in the ICS market and want to get a deeper understanding of the market.
In this article, the term improved cookstoves (ICS) includes efficient cookstoves that burn different solid biomass such as firewood, charcoal, agricultural residues, animal dung and other solid biomass products. Advanced or high tier cookstoves (ACS) are fuelled by LPG, biogas, solar energy or electricity and are mentioned in some sections of this article. ACS are not included in the term ICS, however they are included in the terms clean cooking solutions and clean cooking technologies.
For an overview on the demographics and socio-economic indicators for Mozambique, see this chapter.[rb1]
For detail information about the biomass potential in Mozambique, please see this chapter[rb2] .
For a detailed overview of clean cooking technologies see this article[F3] .
ICS Market Size and Growth Potential
Over the last years, international development organisations and the private sector have realised that the ICS market in Mozambique has largely been overlooked[3]. For this reason, the development organisations are working together with the private sector for mobilisation of the clean cooking market and thus, opening new investment opportunities. In 2016, it was estimated that about 70,000 ICS were distributed through NGO intervention[4]. By the end of 2020, there was a total of 710,000 beneficiaries of clean cooking, and an expected distribution of an additional 166,000 improved cook stoves[5]. Around 20,000 ICS stoves are sold annually in the Mozambican market, based on the survey report from EnDev[6].
The clean cooking market is estimated to be around 4.5 million households[7] and is expected to grow at 9% (or even 16.1% with tax exceptions) by 2026[8].
