By Business Insider Reporter, Mbeya
The national campaign on clean cooking energy is not only a public health and environmental initiative but also an emerging business opportunity, particularly for women entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the Women and Economic Opportunities Forum in Mbeya, Deo Alex, representing the Director of Clean Cooking Energy at the Ministry of Energy, said the government’s clean cooking strategy is designed to create space for entrepreneurs to tap into a fast-growing market.
“The transition to clean cooking is opening up a new value chain – from gas distribution and stove sales to alternative fuel supply. Women and young people, in particular, have a chance to become agents, distributors, and innovators in this sector,” Alex said.
The National Clean Cooking Strategy, launched in 2024 following directives by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, is being rolled out nationwide to reduce reliance on charcoal and firewood.
The campaign promotes electricity, LPG, and improved biomass as alternatives.
Alex emphasised that the shift is also an economic imperative: “Households and the nation save more by investing in clean cooking than by dealing with the healthcare and environmental costs of unsafe fuels. This is not just an energy transition – it is a market transformation.”
Participants at the forum noted that clean cooking offers long-term business potential in both urban and rural areas, especially as more households seek affordable and sustainable energy. Women attendees urged the government to extend financial and training support to help them participate in distribution networks and small-scale enterprises linked to the sector. The Mbeya forum, organised by the Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups in partnership with the Mbeya Regional Commissioner’s Office, ran under the theme “Seize Opportunities, Build Your Today and Tomorrow.”
