Introduction to the Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative
The Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative has been launched as a collaborative effort by several key organizations, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet Inc., Clean Cooking Alliance, and Energy Corps. This initiative is part of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2026 Ministerial and aims to expand access to modern cooking technologies across Africa.
The initiative was announced during the High-Level Dialogue on Advancing Energy Access and Cooking Solutions. The event was chaired by Sophie Hermans, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands, and Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA. It also featured opening remarks from Opiyo Wandayi, Kenya’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum, The Hon. Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of Energy, and Terje Lien Aasland, Norway’s Minister of Energy.
The Importance of Clean Cooking in Africa
Approximately one billion people in Africa rely on traditional fuels such as wood and charcoal, which contribute significantly to household air pollution. The World Health Organization links this pollution to more than 810,000 premature deaths annually. These fuels and appliances increase health risks, especially for women and children, leading to respiratory illnesses and other serious conditions.
The IEA identifies clean cooking as a critical challenge for Africa’s prosperity. It estimates that closing the global clean cooking gap requires over $2 billion per year. Despite progress in some parts of the world, the progress has been uneven, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where population growth has outpaced gains in access. The gap widens by an estimated 14 million people each year.
Benefits of Clean Cooking Solutions
Clean cooking solutions, such as electric, biogas, bioethanol, liquid petroleum gas, and efficient biomass stoves, produce fewer harmful particles compared to wood or charcoal. These solutions not only improve health but also help reduce forest degradation, create local jobs, and build economic opportunities.
Rapidly increasing access to clean cooking is a key component of Mission 300, an initiative led by the World Bank and African Development Bank, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance, Sustainable Energy for All, and others. The goal is to provide 300 million Africans with electricity by 2030.
Implementation Strategy of the Initiative
Starting in approximately half a dozen countries to be announced in the coming month, the Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative aims to expand to additional Sub-Saharan African countries that request support and demonstrate readiness and momentum toward universal access to clean cooking.
The overarching aim is to improve health, save lives, empower women and children, reduce forest degradation, create local jobs, and build economic opportunity across the continent. The initiative seeks to get cleaner cooking methods to more people by coordinating technical expertise, catalytic capital, and implementation support.
Collaborative Efforts and Partnerships
Each participating organization is already pursuing efforts to advance clean cooking, but the Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative will bring them together around certain efforts and allow for information sharing to maximize collective impact. Working in countries that express interest and demonstrate readiness, the initiative will support efforts to strengthen supply chains and invest in infrastructure to scale modern cooking solutions.
In select markets, The Rockefeller Foundation through its Mission 300 Accelerator housed within RF Catalytic Capital, its charitable spin-off, and Energy Corps are providing support to CoAction Global to develop a cohort of Clean Cooking Fellows. This initiative aims to strengthen institutional capacity and develop investable project pipelines.
Quotes from Key Figures
Andrew Herscowitz, CEO of the Mission 300 Accelerator, RF Catalytic Capital, Inc., said: “The Rockefeller Foundation and its Mission 300 Accelerator are thrilled to be working with these organizations to take on an incredible development opportunity: expanding access to clean, modern cooking methods. There are smart, easy solutions that can prevent hundreds of thousands of people needlessly dying from indoor air pollution each year, and we are excited to try to drive investment into solving this problem.”
Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of the Clean Cooking Alliance, added: “We’re seeing real momentum behind clean cooking across Africa, but momentum alone doesn’t deliver solutions to households, schools and institutions. What matters now is building the capacity, partnerships, and market foundations that allow countries to move from targets to implementation. This collaboration is an important step in making that shift possible.”
Role of Energy Corps and Global Energy Alliance
As a nonprofit working to end energy poverty by connecting local leadership with global energy expertise, philanthropy, and NGO organization, Energy Corps will channel philanthropic capital to mobilize private-sector investment and industrial capacity. This support will strengthen capacity building and investment in bankable projects to address supply-chain and infrastructure bottlenecks.
Toby Rice, CEO and Founder of Energy Corps, said: “This Initiative is built to turn commitment into real projects, real infrastructure, and real access by mobilizing more capital.”
Woochong Um, CEO of the Global Energy Alliance, stated: “The Global Energy Alliance has seen firsthand how electric cooking can transform lives, already reaching over 26,000 people in Kenya and Uganda through our Productive Use Financing Facility (PUFF). As a founding member of the Global Electric Cooking Coalition, we are committed to scaling these solutions continent-wide, coordinating with governments to support CDMUs that provide critical, long-term planning and delivery capacity. The Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative supercharges this momentum, aligning with Mission 300 to build resilient energy systems and empower communities through local, expert-led implementation.”
