President William Ruto announced that Kenya, Norway, and the United States will co-host the Second Africa Clean Cooking Summit in Nairobi on January 27 and 28, 2027. Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ruto unveiled a $600 million institutional investment opportunity.
Nairobi Set to Host the Second Africa Clean Cooking Summit in January 2027
Kenya, Norway, and the United States will co-host the second Africa Clean Cooking Summit in Nairobi on January 27 and 28, 2027. President William Ruto confirmed the dates during diplomatic engagements in New York, where world leaders gathered for the opening of the General Debate of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
The upcoming gathering follows the 2024 Africa Clean Cooking Summit in Paris, which generated $2.2 billion in commitments from governments and the private sector. According to the International Energy Agency, $740 million of those initial commitments has already been deployed across 22 African countries.
Unveiling a $600 Million Institutional Investment Opportunity
To accelerate this momentum, Kenya presented a $600 million investment opportunity derived from its newly launched Institutional Clean Cooking Investment Pack. Rather than treating clean cooking as a separate household or social program, the strategy frames it as essential energy infrastructure vital to public health, economic opportunity, and the broader green transition.
Photo: Capital FM Africa
“To translate that ambition into investment, we recently launched the Institutional Clean Cooking Investment Pack. It identifies a US$600 million investment opportunity across schools, healthcare facilities, and correctional services,” Ruto said.
The financial strategy targets institutional aggregation, local-currency financing, guarantees, and results-based funding. Officials emphasized that these instruments are designed to overcome fragmented market demand and reduce the high risk traditionally absorbed by households and small enterprises.
Navigating Diverse Pathways and Protecting Livelihoods
Addressing the practical realities of a continental transition, leaders stressed that a single standardized pathway will not work for every nation. Consumer preferences, available resources, and existing infrastructure vary widely across regions.
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“There will be no single pathway. Different countries will move at different speeds and through different technologies, reflecting their resources, markets, infrastructure, and consumer needs.” Ruto said.
President William Ruto
Furthermore, the transition must account for the millions of people whose daily survival depends on traditional fuel sources. Approximately one billion people across Africa still lack access to clean cooking, facing severe health, environmental, and economic challenges as a result.
“Millions of people today depend on charcoal and firewood for their livelihoods. A transition that ignores them will not endure,” he said.
Photo: The Star
President William Ruto
To prevent widespread economic displacement, a managed transition incorporating alternative livelihoods, retraining, and job creation in fuel production and distribution, appliance manufacturing and assembly, installation and maintenance, retail and consumer financing must accompany the shift. Ruto also called for stronger climate financing for Africa, saying affordable capital, guarantees and risk-sharing instruments were needed to unlock investment in renewable energy, green industries and climate-resilient infrastructure. In addition, Ruto co-hosted the Partners for Multilateralism Summit with European Council President António Costa and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, where he advocated reforms to the United Nations Security Council and the international financial architecture to make them more representative, inclusive, and fair for developing countries.
Organized alongside Norway, the International Energy Agency, the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, and the Clean Cooking Alliance, the New York event focused heavily on accountability. Ruto urged delegates and partners to arrive in Nairobi with measurable deliverables rather than broad promises.
Kenya, Norway and the United States to co-host the 2nd Africa Clean Cooking Summit in Nairobi
“When we meet in Nairobi, let each one of us come prepared to point to one concrete step. A policy approved, a procurement launched, financing deployed, an investment committed, or a project advanced,” Ruto said.
President William Ruto
International Energy Agency Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol confirmed that the agency is actively working with Kenya and international partners to maintain policy momentum ahead of the summit in Nairobi, ensuring that countries strengthen their frameworks to unlock further live funding.
