It is the beginning of a transformative journey in 80 rural communities across Ogun State. With the official launch of the Women Clean Cooking Enterprise Project (WoCCEP) under the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), a powerful shift is underway – one that places clean energy directly in the hands of the women who need it most.
At the heart of this project is a simple, urgent question: What if cooking didn’t have to be a health risk? What if it could be an opportunity?
For thousands of women across Nigeria, daily cooking still means inhaling thick, toxic smoke from firewood and charcoal. It means long hours spent gathering fuel, rising household costs, and limited options. WoCCEP, a partnership between Solar Sister and GIZ under NESP, is stepping into this space with intention and with impact.
Over the next six months, 2,000 energy-efficient cookstoves will be distributed free of charge to socio-economically vulnerable women and micro-enterprises. With this project, we will be distributing stoves and, just as importantly, it’s about lighting the path for women to lead within the clean energy space.
Women receiving these stoves will also receive something equally valuable: training. Through focused entrepreneurship and business development support, they’ll be equipped to start or grow clean cooking enterprises in their communities. These women will use the stoves themselves, and also sell them, teach others, and become advocates for healthier homes and sustainable businesses.
Every stove handed over is a new beginning, a healthier kitchen, a potential business – a ripple effect.
As Communications Manager, I look forward to capturing these stories – of women turning opportunity into action, of communities embracing cleaner ways to cook, and of markets slowly but surely shifting toward sustainability.
