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From struggle to scalable impact, how a woman-led Rwandan startup is re-engineering cooking methods and empowering communities. In a nation where approximately 80% of households still use firewood for daily cooking, one woman-led startup is breaking barriers, transforming kitchens, and powering Rwanda’s clean energy future.
Eco Green Solutions Ltd, founded by Anitha Umutoniwase, has risen from humble beginnings to become a national force in the clean cooking revolution, manufacturing and distributing high-efficiency cookstoves and fuels that reduce carbon emissions, slash fuel use, and uplift women and youth through inclusive employment. Backed by the ReCIC project, this dynamic enterprise is not just building a business; it’s igniting a movement that aligns with Rwanda’s bold climate goals and can inspire entrepreneurs across Africa and beyond.
In the rolling hills of Rwanda, a young entrepreneur’s vision is transforming how families cook their meals, one higher-tier stove transforming how families cook their meals, one higher-tier stove at a time. Anitha Umutoniwase’s journey from struggling startup to thriving clean energy company offers a testament to what determination, the right support, and innovative thinking can achieve. “The journey with the ReCIC project was a dream come true. We were able to produce standardised higher-tier cookstoves, create strong community impact, and take meaningful climate action,” points out Umutoniwase, the founder and CEO of Eco Green Solutions Ltd.
What started as a business concept in 2018 has now grown into one of Rwanda’s key players in the clean cooking revolution. Officially registered with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in 2020, Eco Green Solutions specializes in distributing seven types of improved or higher-tier cookstoves—ranging from Tier 3 to Tier 4 efficiency levels—that run on wood and pellets. But the company does not stop there. It also manufactures and supplies two types of fuel pellets, making it a complete solution provider in the clean cooking value chain.
ReCIC is the abbreviation of the project— Reducing Climate Impact of Cooking in Rwanda through Improved Cooking Energy Systems Action. ReCIC is an initiative—carried out by SNV and GIZ as the lead, with funding from the European Union and BMZ since April 2021— to be completed in June 2025. The ReCIC project has supported cooking energy companies in Rwanda to upgrade their stoves and fuels and to improve their overall business, particularly through a business challenge fund called the Cooking Energy Business Grant Fund (CEBGF).
As part of the project, originally 14 companies were selected through a long, competitive process, including business incubation support from different expert stakeholders. Two companies withdrew, and currently the remaining 12 have been helped technically for capacity development and with grant financing under the CEBGF, paid based on performance milestones. All these companies are EPD (Energy Private Developers) members.
For Anitha, a young and ambitious woman entering the cleancooking sector, the path wasn’t always smooth before joining the Reducing ReCIC project in 2023. Before being chosen to participate in the project, this company faced significant hurdles that would have deterred many entrepreneurs.”We were operating under severe limitations,” Umutoniwase recalls. The company rented both factory space and equipment to manufacture Tier 2 cook stoves and struggled with limited staff capacity.
Recognising that they needed more than just determination to succeed, Umutoniwase and her team sought financial support, capacity building, and technical guidance. Their application to the ReCIC Project’s CEBGF was driven by the desire to scale up operations and improve product quality—a decision that proved transformational. Under the ReCIC project, Eco Green Solutions received dedicated production machines, giving them the operational independence they set out to achieve.
«But the support went far beyond equipment.»
The team received comprehensive capacity strengthening services, particularly focused on business plan development and product design, as reported by EPD, which works closely with these supported enterprises. EPD adds that looking ahead, Eco Green Solutions plans to open 15 new sales outlets across Rwanda by the end of 2025, significantly extending its reach and impact. Yet, it highlights “Despite their remarkable success, Anitha and her team remain realistic about the challenges ahead.
The high cost of raw materials continues to put pressure on production costs, requiring creativity with their sourcing and pricing strategies. Perhaps more challenging is changing mindsets.”
Umutoniwase explains, “Shifting customer attitudes away from traditional cooking practices toward clean alternatives remains our biggest ongoing challenge.”
However, the company has learned to navigate these issues more effectively, securing funding from banks and financial institutions while prioritising customer education as a core part of their marketing strategy. The impact of Eco Green’s higher-tier cookstoves extends far beyond individual kitchens. « Each Tier 3 and Tier 4 cook stove is estimated to reduce 3-4 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
These energy-efficient stoves save up to 71% of fuel consumption, making a substantial difference in both household economics and environmental sustainability while delivering additional benefits in terms of improved health and gender empowerment,” says EPD.
According to the latter, the company’s commitment to inclusivity is evident in its hiring practices: 60% of its workforce is women, while the remaining percentage comprises men and youth. « This approach showcases Eco Green’s role in empowering marginalised groups through job creation in the green energy sector. Eco Green Solutions Ltd exemplifies how innovative leadership and the right support can transform a vision into a scalable, impactful, and sustainable business.
With stronger systems, diversified products, and growing outreach, the company is now well-positioned to continue delivering cleaner cooking solutions across Rwanda. With the right partnerships and continued support, the company can reach more households, empower more women and youth, and accelerate Rwanda’s transition to universal access to cleaner cooking technologies. »
EPD furthermore states that as Umutoniwase looks toward the future, her success story serves as inspiration for entrepreneurs across Africa and beyond—« a proof that with determination, support, and a commitment to solving real problems, small businesses can create big changes in their communities and environment. »
Beyond targets: Eco Green’s transformation in product and practice
« The results speak for themselves. Initially with a personal goal to produce 5,000 improved cookstoves, the company did not just meet this goal—they exceeded it by more than a thousand units, delivering an impressive 6,210units throughout the project period. The transformation did not stop at numbers.
Eco Green shifted away from producing Tier 2 stoves and successfully transitioned to manufacturing the more efficient Tier 3 and Tier 4 models, expanding their product line to seven different types of stoves. This upgrade meant their customers could now access cleaner, more efficient cooking solutions,» EPD explains.
2.3 billion people across the world rely on traditional cooking methods, which are reported to pollute the environment and harm human health. By the end of April 2025, owing to the ReCIC, 449,315 sales had been accomplished, signifying that 449,315 improved cooking stoves had been sold to customers: 449,315 households. 80% of households in Rwanda still rely on firewood for daily cooking.
Like the other 12 companies supported through the ReCIC project, Eco Green Solutions is playing a pivotal role in advancing Rwanda’s transition toward cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable cooking practices. Its innovation, inclusive employment model, and expansion of higher-tier technologies exemplify the kind of transformational contribution needed to address not only the country’s urgent energy and climate goals, but also in various parts of the globe.
Eco Green Solutions’ work aligns with the country’s ambition, whereby Jean Bosco Mugiraneza, the Director General for Energy in the Ministry of Infrastructure, emphasizes, “We aim to decrease fuels that harm the environment and human health. This demands that we work closely with the private sector for us to achieve this goal.”
Eco Green Solutions’ mission directly supports Rwanda’s strategic goal of reducing reliance on polluting cooking fuels by offering cleaner, more efficient alternatives that improve both health and environmental outcomes. Its private sector-led innovation embodies the kind of partnership the government is calling for, as highlighted by Jean Bosco Mugiraneza’s emphasis on working closely with businesses to protect public health and the climate.
ReCIC is a project co-funded by the European Union under the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) initiative, implemented by SNV, and supporting the Government of Rwanda to provide sustainable production and dissemination of improved cookstoves (ICS) by working with producers to improve capacities, and aiming at the sales of 500,000 improved cookstoves. The project specifically focused on supporting local companies to develop, scale, and distribute clean, efficient cookstoves and biomass pellets, reducing emissions, improving health outcomes, and empowering women and youth across Rwanda.
