Ghana Partners
Company Profile
Henos Energy
Henos Energy’s mission is to make LPG accessible for households and businesses throughout Ghana. The ease of access to charcoal and the small daily cost makes charcoal and firewood the “go–to” fuels for most households in Ghana.
Henos seeks to convert these charcoal and firewood users to LPG by improving convenience and affordability of using LPG.
Our Catalytic Support
Increasing LPG Access
To increase LPG accessibility, Henos Energy is strategically partnering with oil marketing companies (gas stations) to place LPG cylinder cages in front of their convenience stores.
These cages enable families to exchange empty cylinders for full LPG cylinders, bringing LPG much closer to households. Cylinder exchanges also increase safety of LPG use, since Henos maintains the cylinders and performs safety checks.
BHLF is supporting Henos to double the number of cylinder cages—from 25 cages to 50 cages in 2024—and to expand their marketing activities.
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LPG Distribution
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Accra, Ghana
Expanding Henos’ Impact
Converting Schools from Firewood to LPG
Large, government boarding high schools in Ghana provide over 3,000 meals per day—all of which are currently cooked using firewood. In 2022, World Bank estimated that schools in Ghana burn 770,000 metric tons of firewood each year¹. The smoke from these kitchens permeates classrooms, dormitories, and playgrounds.
BHLF is supporting Henos Energy to convert 9 high school kitchens from firewood to LPG. These conversions will greatly improve the learning and working environments for students, teacher, and staff.
¹ World Bank, 2022. Analysis of the Woodfuels Sector in Ghana: With options for demand reduction, supply-side measures, fuel switching and governance changes.)
Company Profile
Envirofit
Founded in 2003, Envirofit International is a technology company that creates smart energy products and services to improve lives on a global scale. Using a market-based approach, Envirofit develops a global product line of clean energy and cooking technologies that have served more than 10 million people in energy poverty. Envirofit’s stoves cook faster while reducing fuel use, smoke, and toxic emissions.
Affordability & Accessibility
SmartGas™
In 2016, Envirofit created SmartGas to tackle the problems of LPG affordability and accessibility. SmartGas is an electronic meter that attaches to an LPG cylinder, allowing households to pay for LPG as needed in small increments. The technology also empowers LPG retailers with usage data from each cylinder, prompting a cylinder exchange before the cylinder runs empty. This “virtual pipeline” of metered LPG enables families to obtain and pay for cooking fuel without having to leave their home or save large sums of money to purchase a full cylinder.
SmartGas allows charcoal users to buy LPG at improved (or similar) costs to what they spend on charcoal. The first generation SmartGas meter and business model was simultaneously piloted in Kenya and Ghana in 2017. Envirofit became the first company to bring an LPG SmartMeter to a commercial scale in emerging markets.
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Clean Energy & Cooking Technologies
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Global Reach
Lowering Production Costs
SmartGas 2.0
Despite high demand and user satisfaction, SmartGas has not yet scaled due to the production cost of the meter.
With our support, Envirofit is creating SmartGas 2.0 – a lower-cost meter that will bring the SmartGas production cost down to a market acceptable level. SmartGas 2.0 will catalyze widescale adoption of a technology that is critical for making LPG use more affordable for families.
Expanding in Africa
Envirofit Ghana
With our support, Envirofit Ghana is building a manufacturing and production facility for LPG cookstoves in Accra, Ghana. This facility will be the first to manufacture and produce LPG stoves in West Africa! The facility will increase access to affordable cookstoves and minimize the price fluctuations of imports.
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