This paper reviews the experience of a for-profit firm in Rwanda promoting biomass pellets and a fan micro-gasification improved cookstove as a clean cooking alternative to charcoal. Consumers purchase locally produced biomass pellets and receive the improved cookstove on a lease basis. The cost of the pellets and stove(s) is lower than the cost of cooking with charcoal in the urban setting where our study takes place. Inyenyeri has been piloting its business model since 2012. Using data from an ongoing quantitative impact evaluation study, focus group discussions, and a series of key informant interviews, we chronicle the firm's experience with stove choice, pellet production, and marketing, highlighting lessons for the design of private sector led clean cooking interventions We find that 38% of households marketed to as part of our ongoing impact evaluation study adopted the pellet and stove system, but that approximately 45% of those who adopted suspended contracts after signing up. The firm's experience with stove choice, pellet production, pricing structures, and customer service strategies have influenced implementation, adoption rates, and scale-up. Customer preferences for specific stove attributes and willingness of stove manufacturers to modify stoves for local conditions have influenced both the firm's choice of stove and customer satisfaction. In 2015 the firm transitioned customers from the Philips stove to the Mimi Moto, a decision which created confusion among consumers, and affected adoption rates. Despite the challenge of establishing and scaling-up pellet production in central Africa, the firm increased production 400% between 2014 and 2017 to reach 800,000 kg/year. Importing and maintaining pelletizing equipment in Rwanda is costly, the supply of feedstock, and undercapitalization of the firm have affected production. With respect to marketing, after experimenting with a sign-up fee and a minimum monthly purchase of pellets, the firm has decided to transition to a pay-as-you-go system to reduce perceived risk by consumers. A high-level of customer service including in home visits, free in-home repair, and home delivery of pellets are major innovations. The long pilot phase and the evolutionary nature of the firm's activities illustrate both the complexity of building a market for clean cooking, and the time required to understand nascent markets and consumer demand.

中文翻译：

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在卢旺达实施和扩大生物质颗粒和改良炉灶企业

本文回顾了卢旺达一家营利性公司推广生物质颗粒和风扇微气化改良炉灶作为木炭清洁烹饪替代品的经验。消费者购买当地生产的生物质颗粒并以租赁方式获得改进的炉灶。颗粒和炉灶的成本低于我们研究所在的城市环境中使用木炭烹饪的成本。Inyenyeri 自 2012 年以来一直在试点其商业模式。利用正在进行的定量影响评估研究、焦点小组讨论和一系列关键知情人访谈中的数据，我们记录了该公司在炉灶选择、颗粒生产和营销方面的经验，并重点介绍了以下方面的经验教训：私营部门的设计主导清洁烹饪干预措施 我们发现，作为我们正在进行的影响评估研究的一部分，38% 的家庭采用了颗粒和炉灶系统，但大约 45% 的家庭在签约后采用了暂停合同。该公司在炉灶选择、颗粒生产、定价结构和客户服务策略方面的经验影响了实施、采用率和规模化。客户对特定炉灶属性的偏好以及炉灶制造商根据当地条件修改炉灶的意愿影响了公司对炉灶的选择和客户满意度。2015 年，该公司将客户从飞利浦炉灶转向 Mimi Moto，这一决定在消费者中造成了混乱，并影响了采用率。尽管在中部非洲建立和扩大颗粒生产面临着挑战，但该公司在 2014 年至 2017 年间将产量增加了 400%，达到 800,000 公斤/年。卢旺达进口和维护造粒设备成本高昂，原料供应和公司资本不足影响了生产。在营销方面，在尝试了注册费和每月最低购买颗粒数量后，该公司决定过渡到现收现付系统，以降低消费者的感知风险。高水平的客户服务，包括上门拜访、免费上门维修和颗粒送货上门，都是重大创新。漫长的试点阶段和公司活动的演变性质说明了建立清洁烹饪市场的复杂性，以及了解新兴市场和消费者需求所需的时间。