Can Pay-As-You-Go Help Clean Up Clean Cooking?

Since 2015, the global focus on clean cooking has grown substantially, with larger amounts of funding flowing into the sector, heightened attention from policymakers, and significant investments in research (e.g., the CLEAN-Air(Africa) and MECS programmes). But progress remains slow.

Some promising solutions are emerging in response to these challenges. Inspired by the solar sector, the past few years have seen a number of PAYG cooking providers enter the market. 

However, these business models bring additional complexities that may hinder their growth. More research is needed to understand the true impacts of PAYG business models, how they can reach profitability and scale, and how the rapidly developing landscape of support mechanisms for the clean cooking sector — such as results-based financing initiatives, carbon credits and targeted subsidies — can enable them to reach their full potential.