Africa’s Resource & Supply Potential for Clean Cooking
In Numbers:
● 60%: Population in natural gas-rich states like Algeria and Egypt now using piped gas for cooking.
● US$ 24 Billion: Consistent annual investment in Sub-Saharan African electrical networks required to maintain and expand the grid for eCooking (cooking with high-efficiency electric appliances).
● 40%: The share of the unserved population expected to be reached via LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) to meet 2030 universal access targets.
What Changed:
The supply outlook has transitioned from a narrow focus on "improved" biomass stoves toward a diversified, multi-fuel strategy. While LPG remains the primary transitional fuel, there is a significant shift toward domestic resource utilization—specifically piped natural gas and bioethanol—to hedge against global price volatility. Infrastructure for natural gas is scaling rapidly in North Africa, with Egypt alone aiming to connect 19 million buildings by 2025, a 58% increase from 2015 levels.
Why It Matters:
Securing a diverse fuel supply is critical for Africa’s energy sovereignty (the ability of a country to control its own energy sources). Shifting household demand from informal wood and charcoal markets to formal electricity and gas sectors boosts national utility revenues and stabilizes the grid. This transition mitigates the "wealth drain" of fuel imports and addresses the massive economic burden of health and environmental degradation, which currently costs the continent billions annually.
Key Stakeholder Impacts:
Resource-rich producer states (e.g., Egypt, Nigeria) are successfully leveraging domestic gas to achieve near-universal access, whereas energy-importing economies face high fiscal exposure to volatile global LPG prices and foreign exchange drains. In urban centers, the expansion of the grid makes eCooking a cost-competitive reality, yet rural areas remain supply-constrained by infrastructure gaps, with 20% of the population lacking the all-weather road access necessary for fuel canister distribution.
Source: Sustainable Scaling: Meeting the Clean Cooking Challenge in Africa (AFREC/AU, 2024)
