How Kike Technologies Green Energy Network Is Empowering Women with Clean Biofuel Solutions

by Seyi Taiwo-Oguntuase (Independent) Lilian Aremu, Vice President of Operation Green Energy Biofuels and Co-Founder of Kike Technologies, is a social entrepreneur and transformational leader. In this interview with SEYI TAIWO-OGUNTUASE, she speaks on the organisation’s pioneering efforts in expanding access to clean cooking solutions, and sustainable energy options for women, among other key issues. Excerpts:

Your organisation is driving a campaign to promote the understanding, development and use of biofuels across Nigeria. How has this supported household cooking energy source?

Our products and innovation has supported household cooking in the sense that it is made for the household.

People cook with dangerous fuels like firewood, kerosene, and the dangerous gas. This innovation is cleaner, safer and affordable, even children can learn how to cook with it.

What we do is, we produce and let people know the health benefits of using these clean cook stoves compared to using other dangerous ones.

Once people realise that, and the fact that they can be empowered while using this same cooking, cleaner methods so most people ask themselves since I have been using the other dirty, dangerous cooking fuels how many times have I been paid, what health benefits has it given me?

So when people realise that this is a better, safer alternative and they can even earn a living they will come on board.

What role will your organization play to increase jobs through the use of modern and clean cooking technologies in Nigeria?

Honestly unemployment is a big issue now among youths. What our organization has been doing as part of the SDG goals apart from providing access to clean energy is also empowerment.

We give people an opportunity to come onboard, those who have no access to capital they come onboard get our zero interest loans, pick products and sell off and get their profit from there and become full members earn from everything they do on the system while also using the clean stoves.

We’ve been doing this for 10 years. Over 50,000 people; women and youths have been empowered.

Globally, 2.8 billion people do not have access to clean cooking and use fuel sources that produce health hazards. What progress has your organisation made towards accelerating households’ access to modern cooking energy for all?

Our organization has been in the front roll when it comes to making available access to clean cooking options.

For 10 years we have successfully distributed over one million cook stoves in Nigeria and across Africa.

We are currently operating in 17 other African countries. How we do this mainly is through our last-mile distribution channel, we started with Climate Credit Network (CCN) where we train people to become Green Ambassadors. They use the product and they also earn a living from the same process, so they come on board, we provide a zero interest loan for those that do not have start-up capital.

We go into the rural areas, and we also use our social media platform to reach wider people. We reach more people these days once they see our post when we talk about 2.8 billion people die yearly, when they see something like women cooking three times a day with firewood is equivalent to smoking 300 stick of cigarettes; so all those information are regularly passed and people are like how can I get this cook stove.

The thing about the product is that it is not regular; it is one of its kinds in Nigeria and in Africa.

For now, once we do a post and we say you can switch to clean cooking going forward, ask how people reach out to us through our emails, post on social media platforms and say they are interested. It may be through a member before, because we operate a multi-level marketing.

We had people who have been on the network, who will introduce it to other people and then some people when they see people using it, they like it and also come onboard, that is how we recruit people into the green business.

What are your big stories, successes and its prospects for those considering the opportunity?

There are so many stories from different angles, from different people, but the major ones are the feedback we get from aged persons who use it and there is no risk of asthma or harm.

We still have old people in the village that still have to go outside to cook to eat, but now with the stove in the corner of their rooms, they can cook their meals without going out. They are safe and healthy; there is no risk of explosion.

The other good parts are also from our solar product where people have testified using the product for over 10 years and it’s still working. These are testimonies that we see and it really gladdens our hearts.

How do you source for the materials you use, do you source locally or you import?

Majorly our materials are sourced locally from biomass waste which can be sawdust, water hyacinth, everything biomass waste that should constitute problems to the environment is converted to cellulose and then we form the bio gel from it that is how we source.

It is affordable. One litre currently is around $1. It can be lesser; we are working on partnership to ensure that this is actually lesser.

This technology cooks faster, your beans will be ready in 35minutes, the cook stove does not throw out food or nutrients like others do. It steams your food and you use less water, meaning we also conserve water. It is safe, it does not explode, unlike kerosene when it spills and everywhere is on fire. READ MORE