KOKO goes darkish, leaving 1.5 million Kenyan kitchens in limbo

KOKO Networks’ message to clients on January 31 arrived with out warning, however for a lot of, the ending started 4 months in the past.

“Samahani [Sorry] KOKO buyer, we remorse to tell you KOKO is closing operations in the present day. We’ll share the subsequent steps quickly. Asante [Thank you] for being part of this journey,” the corporate wrote.

For the over 1.5 million households throughout Kenya, that temporary textual content message marked the sudden finish of what had turn out to be their cooking gasoline.

Since late November 2025, clients have acquired apologies and assurances that gasoline can be accessible quickly. However final Saturday was the ultimate. 

Brokers who ran KOKO’s refilling factors received an analogous notice: “We remorse to share that as a result of unavoidable circumstances, KOKO will shut down from in the present day. Thanks in your partnership.”

Whereas a big variety of households, particularly in casual settlements, constructed their every day routines round KOKO’s pay-as-you-go bioethanol gasoline, many have been already switching to options akin to LPG, kerosene, and charcoal as a result of service interruptions.

Provide points

The shutdown adopted almost three months of rising provide disruptions linked to a biofuels scarcity, in keeping with social media stories and individuals who spoke to TechCabal. In December, lengthy queues have been a well-known sight outdoors KOKO refill stations in some Nairobi estates, akin to Mathare, the place the clean-cooking startup was common.

A spot verify by TechCabal in Athi River, Mlolongo, and Kitengela — satellite tv for pc cities about 20 kilometres east of Nairobi — confirmed refillers went for weeks, generally almost two months, with no constant ethanol provide.

“It was very dependable,” mentioned Stephen Museu, an attendant at Victory Outlets, one in every of KOKO’s refilling companions. “From late October, the delays began as individuals waited, then they stopped coming.”

5 attendants at Msafiri, Wellsprings Dwelling Provides, and Wa Religion MaliMali & Store advised TechCabal that offer had been irregular for nearly three months.

For retailers that relied on KOKO foot visitors, the shutdown can also be a blow to revenue. Many advised TechCabal they’re unsure whether or not “subsequent steps” will embrace compensation, different merchandise, or nothing in any respect.

Kenya’s local weather ambitions

KOKO’s shutdown exposes a vulnerability in Kenya’s clean-cooking transition.

The push for different cooking fuels has been tied to local weather finance and carbon credit, which reward firms for serving to households transfer away from polluting fuels. These credit are supposed to subsidise cheaper gasoline for shoppers whereas attracting non-public funding.

However the system will depend on regular financing, international carbon markets, and investor confidence—forces far faraway from the kitchens of Kitengela. When funding tightens or provide chains break, households are left uncovered.

There isn’t a cheaper fallback for clear cooking for many households. When the gasoline stopped, clients like Ruth Mbula, a dealer at Mlolongo, needed to soak up the shock on their very own.

“I need to prepare dinner,” Mbula mentioned. “I’ve a small fuel cylinder, and for issues that require lengthy cooking, I should buy charcoal.”

Thou shalt eat

KOKO was seen as proof that personal capital and expertise might speed up the shift to scrub cooking in Africa. The corporate’s woes reveal how tough that progress will be when left to non-public firms.

It positioned itself as greater than a startup; it was a public-health and local weather answer wrapped in fintech comfort. Based in 2013 by Greg Murray to fight deforestation pushed by the widespread use of charcoal, the startup has raised greater than $100 million in debt and fairness financing from traders like Verod-Kepple, South Africa’s Rand Service provider Financial institution, Mirova, and Microsoft Local weather Innovation Fund. 

Its sensible meters allowed clients to purchase gasoline in small every day quantities, as little as KES 50 ($0.39), making clear cooking accessible to households that would not afford full LPG cylinders.

A 6kg LPG refill prices KES 1,100 ($8.53) in most shops, whereas a 13kg refill is KES 3,000 ($23.25), excluding the price of a cylinder and burner. Charcoal and kerosene are the most cost effective choices, offered in small quantities and accessible all over the place. However they’re dirtier and sometimes dearer over time.

In lots of Nairobi neighbourhoods, a family can spend KES 90 ($0.7) every day on charcoal—equal to KES 2,700 ($20.93) month-to-month—whereas risking larger well being prices from indoor smoke.

Electrical cooking works for a small minority with secure energy and home equipment. Different ethanol suppliers exist, however none function at KOKO’s scale or with its pay-as-you-go expertise. Switching might drive customers to purchase new cookstoves or journey farther—prices many households can’t handle.

Refillers say clients are improvising, mixing fuels relying on money and availability. It retains meals on the desk, however erodes the knowledge KOKO provided.