[Stoves] FW: New York Times: Toxic Smoke Is Africa’s Quiet Killer. An Entrepreneur Says His Fix Can Make a Fortune

Wed Dec 12 13:45:32 CST 2018

From: Inyenyeri <info at inyenyeri.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2018 11:13 AM
To: info at biochar-international.org
Subject: New York Times: Toxic Smoke Is Africa’s Quiet Killer. An Entrepreneur Says His Fix Can Make a Fortune

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The New York Times has just published a major profile story about Inyenyeri! The article, which takes up almost three full pages in print, was the cover story of the December 9th Sunday Business Section.  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=2ea5cc3cac&e=8ae6785286> You can read the full story here. 

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  <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76/images/0f397154-97a0-4a2a-800a-9af77d7ae6a5.png>           "the demand for Inyenyeri’s product appears overwhelming" 
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This story explores our CEO/founder Eric Reynolds' journey from making outdoor gear to taking on clean cooking. It also highlights our positive impact on public health, the environment, and the wallets of our customers. A sample: 

      "Inyenyeri is betting that it can give away stoves and make money by charging people for fuel. If it succeeds, it vows to deliver virtues that go well beyond the bottom line.
     The forests would be spared, because making wood pellets requires far fewer trees than wood fires and charcoal. Customers would gain a reprieve from ailments related to smoke from cooking, including cataracts, heart disease and respiratory ailments that, in many countries, kill more people than malaria, H.I.V. and tuberculosis combined. Worldwide, close to 4 million people die prematurely each year from ailments linked to air pollution from cooking, according to the World Health Organization.
     Rwandans in rural areas — and, eventually, across Africa and South Asia — would be freed from the time-sucking drudgery of having to look for wood. People in cities, who rely on charcoal, could switch to cheaper wood pellets, using the savings to buy health care, food and school uniforms."
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The story also details our current efforts to raise investment funding, so we can continue to scale our impact and spread to other countries. 

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This article is one of the largest media stories about the clean cooking sector in years, and we're both incredibly excited and humbled to be the subject of it. It is a testament to the work of  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=f549315c1e&e=8ae6785286> our entire team, and the strength of our value proposition.
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 <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=def42c7ed1&e=8ae6785286> The online version contains 13 beautiful images and two brief videos, and since it's been published we've been hearing from people all over world. We want to hear from more, so please share the link on social media and tag us when you do; our Twitter handle is  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=a91026f0fc&e=8ae6785286> @inyenyeri, and our Facebook address is  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=f5320e55c6&e=8ae6785286> https://www.facebook.com/Inyenyeri/
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The story ends with a quote from CEO Eric Reynolds that speaks for all of us, and our belief that a fuels based approach is the correct way to scale a clean cooking solution that reaches every home.

“This business model will happen,” he says. “If it’s not Inyenyeri that’s the first mover, then it will be someone else who learns from our mistakes and does it better. It’s too big of an opportunity.”

All photo credits: Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi for The New York Times

More Media Coverage Of Inyenyeri

The story in the New York Times was one of three about Inyenyeri in recent weeks. On December 2nd, pioneering impact and energy journalist Marc Gunther followed up  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=d3f4fda687&e=8ae6785286> his previous article about us with  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=7e16f771d5&e=8ae6785286> a deeper dive into our business model and approach--it's really worth reading. 
          <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=cf60efb055&e=8ae6785286> 
The story explores how Inyenyeri is taking a fuels-based approach, and is working to create a utility company for the developing world.
      "He thinks of Inyenyeri as a utility company that will require capital to scale up, after which it will profit by selling cooking fuel to millions of customers. “Instead of pipes in the ground, it’s stoves on the counter,” Reynolds explains. “That’s our infrastructure.” "
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This kind of approach has been gaining broader recognition as one that can scale and achieve real impact on the Sustainable Development Goals, including energy access.
       "Rachel Kyte, a former World Bank executive who leads a UN initiative called Sustainable Energy for All, says: “We need to be supporting 100 Inyenyeri’s."                        
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The story also notes Inyenyeri's strong commitment to local investment.
      "Inyenyeri also wants to bring on local investors. Reynolds won’t go into detail but the new investors could include Rwandan companies, wealthy individuals or even the government. “The company should be locally owned,” he says. He sees Rwanda as the test case to prove the business model, which can then be franchised to the rest of Africa, again, in partnership with local owners."

The Marc Gunther story was preceded a week earlier by  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=9e597d8f9d&e=8ae6785286> a story in Impact Investing Exchange,
                  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=5c16a853f0&e=8ae6785286> 
which contained a great summary of our approach, encapulated in a <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=9afc00f03e&e=8ae6785286>  recent article by Dr. Kevin Starr called "Somebody's Gotta Get Rich."
     “I thought there was a magic stove—there’s not,”[ Reynolds] said. “I found a landscape of two thousand failures in 40 years.” Reynolds has grown dismissive of clean cooking pilot projects funded by governments and philanthropies. “Businesses scale,” he said. “Philanthropy and government don’t.”

We really appreciate opportunities to tell our story to new audiences. Do you know a journalist interested in public health, climate change, or womens/girls issues? Have them  <mailto:tom.price at inyenyeri.com> get in touch, we've got a great story for them. 

Rwanda Minister of Infrastructure and CEO of Rwanda Energy Group visit Inyenyeri pellet plant, discuss plans to scale to 1 million homes by 2024

Last week the Honorable Minister of Infrastructure Claver Gatete and CEO of Rwanda Energy Group Ron Weiss visited our pellet plant in Gisenyi, to continue conversations about how to speed adoption of the Inyenyeri Fuel+Stove system.  
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       Inyenyeri's Sandrine Karenzi (left) and Faridi Karume ( 2nd right) share a light moment with REG's Ron Weiss (2nd left ) and Minister Gatete (right).

This follows on  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=8ff55ab855&e=8ae6785286> the recent signing of an MOU between Inyenyeri and REG, on behalf of five government ministries, with a stated goal of reaching one million households by 2024. REG has been making remarkable progress in electrifying Rwanda, from 6% in 2009 to 44% in 2017, and we want to join them in making a similarly big impact on cooking.
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New Inyenyeri Website Launched
 <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=0f75adbcb2&e=8ae6785286> 

Just in time for the attention generated from the New York Times and other publications,  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=d82f19a923&e=8ae6785286> Inyenyeri has launched a new website, focused on telling our story in a clean, clear format.

      <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=c7f9cf0676&e=8ae6785286> 

The site uses images and video taken over the last year by  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=1ba2fa1d4c&e=8ae6785286> Keith Carlsen to convey a real feeling for the experience our clean cooking system provides.  The site was designed and built by  <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=dff0361786&e=8ae6785286> NM Web Development. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Who's Signing Up? In This Village, Everybody.

As the New York Times noted, "demand for Inyenyeri's appears to be overwhelming," and that's certainly our experience. Our growth continues to be strong; we've crossed 5,000 customers, and are continuing to show excellent adoption and retention rates. Case in point--here's a map of the village of Kabashumba in Nyabihu district; each blue dot is a customer. We've signed up 90% of all the houses in the community. This kind of density makes customer service and support more affordable, and also means the entire community will benefit from cleaner air. 
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 <https://inyenyeri.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d311672b6454d8e46857e4e76&id=aad0da0670&e=8ae6785286> 

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Thank you for your interest in our work. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please email info at inyenyeri.com <mailto:info at inyenyeri.com> .

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