Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui has for the first time explained why the Kenyan government declined to issue licences to Koko Networks, a bioethanol clean cooking company that recently collapsed.
Koko Networks operated a network of over 3,000 fuel refilling machines, serving about 1.5 million households. Its business model relied heavily on selling carbon credits in international markets, with revenue from these sales used to subsidize affordable fuel for low-income families.
Kinyanjui said the government refused to issue the Letters of Authorisation, which are required under international rules to access high-value carbon markets, because doing so would have allowed Koko to claim all of Kenya’s available carbon credits.
This would have blocked other Kenyan companies and industries from participating in the same market and could have damaged Kenya’s credibility globally.
“The company’s model did not align with national interests. It would have mopped up everything that Kenya could otherwise do,” Kinyanjui explained, noting that other sectors like agriculture and manufacturing also deserved access to carbon credits.
Without the licences, Koko could only sell in low-value markets, which failed to generate enough revenue to sustain operations. Consequently, the company filed for administration and shut down, leaving hundreds of employees jobless and many households without access to cleaner cooking fuel.
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