Will African Consumers Buy Cleaner Fuels and Stoves?

The report employs a Household Energy Economic Analysis (HHEA) model based on discrete choice analysis and stated preference surveys to understand why clean cooking technologies often fail to penetrate Sub-Saharan African markets. By surveying households in Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, and Maputo, the study argues that product-specific attributes—such as stove price, usage cost, safety, and smoke levels—are as critical as socio-economic factors in determining consumer choice. The findings reveal that low-income households are significantly more sensitive to upfront stove prices than usage costs, while higher-income groups show a greater willingness to pay for reduced smoke and increased safety. The report concludes that for bio-ethanol stoves to be viable, particularly for the poor, policies must address both the initial purchase price through subsidies or microfinance and the ongoing fuel costs.

• Product-specific attributes, including stove price, usage cost, indoor smoke, and safety risk, are as important as socio-economic attributes in determining the market success of clean cooking stoves.
• In Ethiopia and Tanzania, low-income households are more sensitive to the initial purchase price of a stove than to its ongoing usage costs, whereas middle and high-income groups prioritize lower usage costs.
• Willingness to pay for 'soft' attributes like reduced smoke and increased safety increases significantly with household income levels in Ethiopia and Tanzania.
• Gender-based differences in decision-making were observed in Ethiopia and Tanzania, where men are more sensitive to usage costs and budget affairs, while women are more concerned about indoor smoke levels.
• In Mozambique, charcoal remains the most preferred cooking option despite the perceived value of the safety and cleanliness of ethanol stoves.
• Simulation results for Ethiopia indicate that bio-ethanol stoves cannot dominate the market based on fuel price alone; however, they become the most popular option if the stove price is reduced to 20 USD (e.g., via subsidies) and usage costs are kept low.
• The study identifies a specific barrier in Ethiopia where some consumers perceive ethanol as unsafe due to previous negative experiences with poor-quality ethanol-kerosene blends known as 'K-50'.

APA

Takama, T., Lambe, F., Johnson, F. X., Arvidson, A., Atanassov, B., Debebe, M., Nilsson, L., Tella, P., & Tsephel, S. (2011). Will African Consumers Buy Cleaner Fuels and Stoves? Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ResearchReport-Takama-WillAfricanConsumersBuyCleanerFuelsAndStoves-2011.pdf

Chicago

Takama, Takeshi, Fiona Lambe, Francis X. Johnson, Anders Arvidson, Boris Atanassov, Milkyas Debebe, Linda Nilsson, Patricia Tella, and Stanzin Tsephel. Will African Consumers Buy Cleaner Fuels and Stoves? Stockholm Environment Institute, 2011. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ResearchReport-Takama-WillAfricanConsumersBuyCleanerFuelsAndStoves-2011.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Takama |first1=Takeshi |last2=Lambe |first2=Fiona |last3=Johnson |first3=Francis X. |last4=Arvidson |first4=Anders |last5=Atanassov |first5=Boris |last6=Debebe |first6=Milkyas |last7=Nilsson |first7=Linda |last8=Tella |first8=Patricia |last9=Tsephel |first9=Stanzin |title=Will African Consumers Buy Cleaner Fuels and Stoves? |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2011 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ResearchReport-Takama-WillAfricanConsumersBuyCleanerFuelsAndStoves-2011.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{takama2011will, author = {Takama, Takeshi and Lambe, Fiona and Johnson, Francis X. and Arvidson, Anders and Atanassov, Boris and Debebe, Milkyas and Nilsson, Linda and Tella, Patricia and Tsephel, Stanzin}, title = {{Will African Consumers Buy Cleaner Fuels and Stoves?}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2011}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ResearchReport-Takama-WillAfricanConsumersBuyCleanerFuelsAndStoves-2011.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }