First Bioenergy Partnership for SE4ALL sets the stage for sustainable biofuels in Africa
Abu Dhabi— 23 January 2014 — Small Medium Enterprise Fundamentals’ (SMEFunds) Green Energy & Biofuels announced today a partnership with the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4ALL) and Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA), signed this week during the 7thWorld Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
This partnership, under the SE4ALL High-Impact Initiative for Sustainable Bioenergy in Africa (African HII), is created in order to support the scale-up of SMEFunds’ existing bio-ethanol production and clean cook stove business in the Lagos, Nigeria area and to help it achieve its ambitions of achieving cellulosic ethanol production at scale while growing its market nationwide.
“We are thrilled at having such a prestigious international partner to help us scale our operations,” said Femi Oye, CEO at SMEFunds. “While we’ve had measurable success over the last two years, with the finance and R&D support that SE4ALL can leverage, we look forward to increasing our impact significantly further in the years ahead. With the scale up we will be able to create a positive impact on the health of millions of mothers and families by replacing kerosene, as well as avoiding the emissions of many tons of carbon dioxide.”
For the past 2 years, SMEFunds has converted wood waste from local sawmills into a high quality cooking gel. Bottles of this renewable ethanol gel are then sold around the price of kerosene to communities across West Africa. To date, the company has sold over 140,000 cook stoves and 700,000 L of bio-ethanol cooking gel.
About SE4ALL
SE4ALL High-Impact Initiative for Sustainable Bioenergy in Africa (African HII) is a voluntary partnership of likeminded stakeholders that seeks to facilitate the development and deployment of sustainable bioenergy solutions in Africa.
About SMEFunds
Small and Medium Enterprise Fundamentals (SMEFunds) is a social enterprise based in Lagos, Nigeria promoting safer and cleaner biofuel gel with the Kike clean cookstove as an alternative to dangerous and harmful fuel. Distribution is achieved using Nigeria’s largest and growing product logistics system for energy entrepreneurs, the Carbon Credit Network (CCN).
About PANGEA
Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA) is a non-profit membership association that promotes sustainable African bioenergy production, investment and policies. Based in Brussels, PANGEA engages with governments, provides a network for the industry, and shares knowledge on best practices in both the EU and Africa. Its members produce, blend, trade, research and support the development of sustainable bioenergy in Africa and beyond.
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For more information on SME Funds: http://smefunds.com