The MCFA portfolio company EcoSafi is entering the Zambian market to scale-up access to clean cooking for households

MCFA has signed its seventh portfolio company agreement in Zambia with Ecosafi Better Cooking Company Limited. EcoSafi, part of the Better Cooking Company, established its Zambian company during 2025 and is now starting its business operations in the country.

Building on experience in Kenya, where MCFA has supported EcoSafi’s activities since 2024, this new agreement shows how results‑based financing can support companies to scale across markets.

In Zambia, EcoSafi will increase access to modern and affordable cooking solutions, benefiting households across the country while reducing pressure on forests and delivering health benefits through cleaner cooking. With EUR 2.5 million in MCFA funding, EcoSafi Zambia plans to establish up to 70,000 clean cooking services, reaching an estimated 350,000 Zambians by 2029.

“In Zambia, households rely overwhelmingly on charcoal and are often far from LPG supply chains, which makes our pelletised solution a strong and practical fit. At the same time, delivering clean cooking solutions is extremely challenging. MCFA’s results-based financing is the critical missing link that enables us not only to launch our operation in the country, but to build a solution that can succeed at scale,” comments Jordyan Woodley, CEO of EcoSafi.

EcoSafi Zambia will offer an integrated solution combining a forced-draft pellet stove of EcoSafi’s own design with a reliable supply of sustainably produced pellets made from waste biomass. The pellets will be produced from cassava stems, a waste by-product of a cassava processing facility owned by Sunbird, a pan-African renewable energy company. This approach supports local value chains by turning agricultural residues into clean energy.

MCFA has now contracted a total of 23 companies across six project countries, including seven in Zambia. EcoSafi Zambia was shortlisted under the second funding round (MCFA2) under the Scale-up Funding Window. The selection process included thirdparty evaluations of the final applications by independent experts and a detailed duediligence assessment carried out by Danish Energy Management in consortium with LFS Advisory. The project is financed by the European Union and Sweden.

For further information, please contact:

Aliona Fomenco, Senior Programme Manager, Nefco
aliona.fomenco@nefco.int, +358 10 6180 647

Jordyan Woodley, CEO, EcoSafi Zambia
jordy@ecosafi.com, +254 796 549 100

About EcoSafi

EcoSafi Zambia is part of the Better Cooking Company, an American parent company, which also has a subsidiary in Kenya and Uganda. EcoSafi is the exclusive licensee of the BetterStove. BetterStoves are 98% cleaner than charcoal and their fuel is half the price of charcoal and uses zero trees. EcoSafi was the first company to issue carbon offsets in Africa, under the strict new Gold Standard Metered and Measured Methodology, and it is the only ‘A’-rated cookstove project according to ratings agency BeZero. Read more at www.ecosafi.com