ADB funding supports Greenway's mission to distribute a million improved cookstoves, reducing emissions and health risks and pioneering carbon markets for climate change mitigation projects
Greenway Grameen Infra Private Limited has finalised a senior secured loan of £6.5 million with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The funds will aid in producing and distributing 1 million improved cookstoves to rural households in India's Madhya Pradesh and Odisha states, offering financial assistance to families for adopting cleaner cooking methods.
Replacing traditional mud chulhas or indoor stoves with these improved stoves can lead to a 65 percent reduction in fuel consumption and a 70 percent decrease in smoke generation, significantly cutting down black carbon and carbon monoxide emissions.
Inefficient cooking, a major cause of indoor carbon monoxide and household air pollution, poses a severe health risk, especially to women and children. The adoption of cleaner and more efficient cooking facilities not only saves lives but also reduces women's daily domestic workload.
The project anticipates a total reduction of 22.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Greenway will sell the carbon credits generated from these improved cookstoves to international buyers through its SDG 13 Ventures Private Limited subsidiary.
ADB's debt financing will enable Greenway to bridge the gap between the time it takes to sell carbon units and the overall operating costs, creating new opportunities to channel carbon markets towards financing climate change mitigation projects.
This initiative will get a boost with the infusion of a $3.25 million first-loss liquidity reserve from CIDF, or the Climate Innovation and Development Fund (CIDF), which ADB administers. Established in 2021 as a blended finance facility, the CIDF can raise as much as $500 million from private and government sources for sustainable, low-carbon economic development. The initial $25 million for this fund came from philanthropic Bloomberg Philanthropies and Goldman Sachs.
Established in 2010, Greenway has sold over 2.5 million improved cookstoves and employs more than 500 people. Besides operating its manufacturing facilities, Greenway collaborates with community-based organisations such as banks, cooperatives, NGOs, and microfinance institutions to reach deep into rural communities.
Greenway receives multiple impact investments from the New York-based Acumen Fund, the Asha Investment Fund, and the Centre for Innovation, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific while continuing its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. It is owned by 68 members, 49 of whom are from the region.