Rwanda mobilises $50 million for clean cookstoves with carbon finance
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DelAgua, a company operating in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and The Gambia, secured over $50 million in investment over the last decade by selling carbon credits generated from its Tubeho Neza cookstove program.
The program distributed 1.9 million improved cookstoves to households in rural Rwanda, allowing DelAgua to offer the stoves free of charge.
The company earns revenue by selling carbon credits, each representing one tonne of carbon dioxide reduced, to investors and buyers, including those in the aviation sector, for between $8 and $18. Rwanda’s Environment Management Authority (REMA) has recorded 29 carbon projects in development, and coordinates with DelAgua to ensure carbon credits meet international standards and align with Rwanda’s climate goals.
Researchers from three universities studied the program’s impact from 2014 to 2023, finding that areas receiving the cookstoves experienced an average 0.61 percentage point increase in forest cover. The study also revealed that households using the improved cookstoves reduced their firewood spending from approximately Rwf10,000 to between Rwf3,000 and Rwf4,000. DelAgua aims to provide improved cookstoves to all rural households in Rwanda, but achieving this will require collaboration with the government to avoid duplicating efforts.
