SME Funds is an international NGO that received a grant from the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves' Spark Fund. Through investing in green social initiatives, SME Funds creates jobs and improves livelihoods, especially for women. Based in Nigeria, SME Funds has become a leading clean cooking energy organization in Africa and is the only company commercially producing ethanol from waste materials. The Spark Fund grant has helped SME Funds accelerate its growth plans. A new facility for producing ethanol gel fuel has been established, and training materials for product ambassadors have been improved with instructional videos. There is huge demand for clean cooking fuels in Nigeria, with the potential market valued at over $2.3 billion

1. Alliance Spark Grantee “SME Funds”: Creating Jobs, Boosting Clean Fuel Use
SME Funds, a grantee forthe Global Alliance forCleanCookstoves’ SparkFund,isaninnovative
international NGOworkingtoendpovertythroughendorsingsustainable enterprise developmentin
Africa.Throughthe investmentinethical andgreensocial initiatives,theycreate platforms that
generate jobsandimprove women’slivelihoods.BasedinNigeria,SMEFundshas become one of the
largestandfastestgrowing cleancookingenergy organization inAfrica.Itisalsothe onlycompanyin
Nigeriathatiscommercially producingethanol fromwaste productssuchassawdust,andinvasive plant
speciessuchaswater hyacinth.
Since itsSpark Fund grant,SME Funds has acceleratedthe achievementof its ambitiousgrowth
plan. A semi-automatedgellingfacility,includingasmall laboratoryandfactor, has beenestablishedin
Epe, Nigeria. The granthas also enabledthe companytoimprove the waySME Funds trainsits
“ambassadors”whoare responsible fordistributing the company’sproducts.The trainingmaterialshave
beenenhancedwith instructionalvideosinlocal languages toensure thatthe thousandsof ambassadors
operate as an efficientandproductivesalesforce.
Currently,the demandforethanol inNigeria
outstripssupplybyafactor of ten,and98% of the
ethanol isimported.The marketforethanol cooking
fuel inNigeriais valuedatover$2.3 billion,which
meansSME Fundshasthe potential tobecome afirst
moverina massive market,andindoingso bringinto
the mainstreama cleanalternativetocooking fuel
whichis replicable throughoutthe continent.
GreenEnergy& BiofuelsLimited(GEB),a partner
companyof SME Funds, focusesonthe productionof
secondgenerationbioethanolgel cookingfuel and
the distributionof improvedcleancookstoves totryto change the way Africanscook.Asa multi-sector
focusedorganization,GEBsupportsclean andsustainable energy,helpsinthe fightagainstclimate
change, and alsoseeks toincrease youthemploymentin Nigeria.Overthe pasttwoyears, GEB’s two
plantshave produced more than500,000 litersof “Kike GreenCookGel” andsold over1.2 millionliters
of bio-fuel,whichisatremendousaccomplishment. Forreference, aNigerianfamilyreliesonlessthana
literof gel fora full day’sworthof cooking,sothisis equivalenttoalmost700 familiescookingwith
ethanol gel exclusivelyfor2 years.
While liquidethanol isstillamuchsaferalternative whencomparedtothe extremelyunhealthy
effectsof kerosene, GEB’spioneeringgel producthasreceived alotof attention due toits innovation.
Made fromsawdustand grass, the gel is 100% organic, and reducesthe riskof explosions asitisnon-
pressurized.Itisalsonon-toxic,andthe gel will notburnthe skin.

2. In additiontoprovidingthe fuel,SMEFunds
alsoprovidesthe Kike Green Cookstove toits
customers.These gel-burningstoves are cleanerand
saferalternativestotraditionalwoodburningstoves
whichcreate heavy smoke andultimately leadto
usersexperiencingrespiratoryillnesses.
The stove’s gel housingisnon-pressurizedwhich
eliminatesthe concernof the stove beingturnedover
or spilled. The burnerflame isadjustedand
extinguishedbyasimple regulator, whichalso
reducespotential risksandsafetyhazards. GEBsellstwomodels: aKDseries made of a long-lasing
special bakedstainless-steel,andthe ASseries made of cost-savinganddurable substitutes of
galvanizedsteel andaluminum. Withoutmoderncookingalternatives,familiesare oftenforcedtospend
much of theirincome on dirtyfuelslike charcoal andkerosene,orwalkmiles everyday insearchof
firewood.Thesecookstoveshave the abilityto improve health andreduce expenditure on fuel amongst
those livinginpoverty, allowingthemmore time forincome-generatingworkorto spendwiththeir
families.
SME Funds’cookstovesandfuel have createdmore than15,000 greenjobs andreduced 2,000
tonsof carbon,displacingthe equivalentof 1.2 millionlitersof harmful kerosenewithcleanand
sustainable ethanol cookinggel. Givenitstremendoussuccess thusfar,SME Fundshas ambitiousfuture
plansand looks toscale up across WestAfrica. The companyrecentlylaunchedin Ghana,andis looking
to expandtomore western Africancountries inthe nextyear.Initshome countryof Nigeria,SMEFunds
isseekingtoinvestin alarge scale ethanol refining facility.