ENERGY IN AFRICA - THE COOKING CONTEXT

Africa is capable of being a global economic powerhouse, given the abundance of key resources. Among these resources are a growing youth population and abundance of natural commodities, which if harnessed and managed correctly, can change the face of Africa from an export-driven resource economy to include local manufacturing, regulated inter-Africa trade and data-driven economies. 

The youngest and fastest growing population in the world is in Africa. Between today and 2050 one-in-two people added to the world population are set to be in Africa. Africa is predicted to have the highest youth population by 2030 as young Africans are expected to make up 42% of the world’s youth and account for 75% of those under 35 years of age. By 2050, 60% of of the 2,5 billion Africans will be urban dwellers and the economic growth will come from the increased activity in towns and cities. 

However, in the face of this potential, many African nations are faced with poverty, no access to clean energy, a skills shortage, and staggering unemployment rates, which largely exist among young people and women.  

Having just enough resources and people is not sufficient to improve the continent’s fate. Therefore, sustainable job creation, education and skills development should be of paramount concern for African nation-states. The African population of tomorrow will need and demand access to affordable, safe and sustainable energy in a modern connected world.

Mobile technology has been a game changer for Africa. Youth are seizing the momentum and rewriting society’s rules at the same time. This is the first generation to have direct access to high technology which is almost ubiquitous in African society. There are now 650 million mobile users in Africa, surpassing the number in the United States or Europe. In some countries more people have access to a mobile phone than to clean water, a bank account or electricity.

The rate of adoption of mobile money services is accelerating faster than expected, boosted by increased adoption in Africa, as digital services continue to rise in popularity. Africa now accounts for 70% of the world’s 1 trillion dollar US dollars mobile money value. According to the World Bank, more women than men now own a mobile money account in at least seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.  

The opposite situation exists in energy access. In 2019, the World Bank ESMAP (Energy Sector Assistance Program) estimated that less than 20% of households in Africa had access to Modern Clean Cooking Solutions and even less had access to electricity.

Cooking with charcoal remains the African urban fuel of choice and over the last three decades wood charcoal production has increased from an average of 18 million tons per year (1990-99) to 31 million tons per year (2010-19) as the urban population in Africa grows. If this trend continues, charcoal production will increase to 80 million tons by 2050 requiring over 500 million tons of harvested wood annually using traditional charcoal production methods. 

This production rate is unsustainable and will certainly have huge impacts on society and the natural environment as wood feedstocks become scarce and consumer prices rise.

In sub-Saharan African cities, about 55% of urban dwellers live in slums, a figure that is significantly higher than the global average of 30%. Unplanned urbanisation fuels the continuous increase in informal settlements across Africa as people migrate looking for opportunity.

The demand for cooking fuel increases exponentially as the urban populations explode. This most evident in the informal areas around the cities where the poorest live. Most of these households use charcoal for cooking and have limited access to electricity. 

Today over 200 million people rely on charcoal as a primary fuel and  60% of the world's charcoal is now produced in Africa representing a market value of over $10 billion per annum.

Over 4 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are employed in the charcoal industry which supports numerous small scale producers / farmers who harvest trees and make charcoal in simple soil covered kilns be sold in nearby towns and cities.

As a result, forests near urban areas are being destroyed and many African countries lost over 20% of their natural forests between 1990 and 2005. In many areas the production of charcoal has now been banned, but policing efforts are difficult to manage.

Despite the problems with charcoal, biomass remains the most affordable and carbon friendly cooking fuel for the masses.  Alternative sources of biomass outside of natural forests need developing if urban cooking needs in Africa are to be satisfied.

The charcoal problem actually represents a huge opportunity for the development of energy crops that could provide opportunities for farmers both large and small.

The climates in Sub-Saharan Africa are suited to the cultivation of perennial giant C4 grasses that are drought resistant, grow on poor soils and have high dry mass outputs per hectare. These grasses are endemic to Africa and their DNA has developed over centuries in a way that will mitigate global warming. It is estimated that grasses in Africa are responsible for about 60% of all CO2 capture.

Just one hectare of cultivated giant grass stems can provide cooking fuel for 40 families if dried and compressed into fuel pellets. 75 hectares will support 3,000 families and a viable local value chain.

Napier grass is already being promoted as a "cut and carry" feed for increasing meat and milk production in cattle. The by-products from the cooking fuel and animal fodder i.e. the biochar from the gasifier cookers and the manure can be used as a natural soil nutrient for the grass growing.  A sustainable circular value chain is created by using the grass leaves for fodder and the stalks for cooking fuel.

Our goal at Ekasi Energy is to establish, promote and "grow" localised biomass value chains that encourage local production and consumption and make communities self sustaining for energy requirements.

Our franchised business plan for biomass fuel production enable local communities to densify low value feedstocks into high value pellet fuel that is easy to store, distribute and use.