When Matovu Muhudi watched his mother suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) after years of cooking over smoky traditional stoves, he began looking for a solution beyond treating the illness.
The experience convinced him that the smoke produced by traditional cooking methods was not only a family concern but also a wider public health and environmental problem.
In March 2020, Muhudi founded Elsmart Conservation Technologies, a clean energy company based in Nyakaizi, Mbarara City South, with the goal of providing Ugandans with affordable cooking technologies that protect their health and the environment.
The company has since grown into an emerging manufacturer of improved cookstoves and biomass briquettes in Western Uganda, combining clean energy, manufacturing and environmental conservation.
“My mother’s illness changed everything,” Muhudi says. “I wanted to provide ordinary Ugandans with cooking technologies that protect their health while remaining affordable.”
Elsmart manufactures energy-efficient biomass cookstoves using recycled scrap metal and produces cleaner-burning briquettes from agricultural waste that would otherwise be discarded.
The products provide households and businesses with alternatives to charcoal and firewood, while helping to reduce smoke emissions and pressure on Uganda’s forests.
The company’s growth received a major boost after it joined the Uganda National Alliance on Clean Cooking (UNACC) and participated in the Results-Based Financing (RBF) programme implemented by GIZ EnDev in partnership with Equity Bank Uganda.
Under the programme, Elsmart received performance-based incentives to manufacture and distribute improved cooking technologies. It was required to supply 600 household cookstoves and 213 commercial productive-use stoves for restaurants and other businesses.
Virginia Semakula, Equity Bank’s Energy, Environment and Climate Change Pillar Head, explains that payments under the RBF model are tied to verified results.
“Results-Based Financing is not about promises. The systems must first be installed, operational and verified by an independent third party before incentives are paid out,” Semakula says.
Equity Bank has implemented several RBF programmes in partnership with organisations such as GIZ EnDev to support the distribution of solar technologies and improved cooking systems in underserved communities.
For Muhudi, the programme provided the financial confidence needed to invest in modern machinery and move the company beyond small-scale production.
“The programme gave us confidence to invest in mechanised production. Before then, we were operating on a very small scale,” he says.
The investment allowed Elsmart to shift from mainly manual production to mechanised manufacturing, increasing its capacity to produce both honeycomb and stick briquettes.
The move improved production capacity, consistency and product quality, allowing the company to prepare for larger orders and expand its market in Western Uganda.
The business has also recorded growth in annual turnover, rising from about Shs72 million to Shs98 million. The additional revenue has enabled the company to invest in production, diversify its products and strengthen its presence in the region.
One of Elsmart’s key innovations has been the production of biomass briquettes sold at Shs1,500 per kilogramme.
Designed for use with the company’s improved cookstoves, the briquettes offer households and businesses a cheaper alternative to conventional charcoal while producing significantly less smoke.
For Muhudi, however, the business is ultimately driven by a broader goal.
“We are trying to eliminate diseases caused by smoke while protecting the environment,” he says.
Despite growing awareness of the health and environmental benefits of clean cooking, Elsmart faces competition from traditional cooking technologies, which remain popular largely because of their low upfront cost.
“The uptake of improved stoves is still low because traditional stoves are cheaper,” Muhudi says. “Some households can buy a traditional stove for as little as Shs8,000. Naturally, many people choose the cheapest option.”
Although the RBF programme required the company to distribute 600 household stoves, Muhudi set a higher internal target of 2,000 units.
By the end of the programme, Elsmart had sold 1,200 stoves — twice the contractual target, although below its own ambitious goal.
Muhudi believes wider adoption of clean cooking technologies will require more financing programmes that make improved stoves and other modern cooking solutions more affordable for households and businesses.
He also calls for stronger quality control in the sector.
“Uganda National Bureau of Standards should strengthen certification to eliminate poor-quality stoves that flood the market. Quality products will increase consumer confidence and improve the industry’s reputation,” he says.
The RBF programme also changed the way Elsmart manages its customers.
The strict verification process required the company to create detailed customer databases and maintain proper sales records. What initially appeared to be an administrative requirement has since become an important business tool.
Elsmart now follows up with customers after they purchase its products, monitors how the stoves perform and responds quickly to any challenges.
The approach has improved customer service and helped the company build a network of satisfied users who recommend its products to others in their communities.
For Alapha Nakayima, an Elsmart employee and former USAID health worker, the company’s products are as much about disease prevention as they are about clean energy.
“I joined Elsmart because I understood the health benefits,” she says. “There has been an increase in respiratory illnesses caused by prolonged exposure to smoke from traditional cooking. These improved stoves greatly reduce smoke and help families live healthier lives.”
Nakayima also uses the products at home and encourages her neighbours to adopt cleaner cooking methods.
Elsmart’s work is also contributing to environmental conservation.
By turning agricultural waste into briquettes, the company helps reduce reliance on charcoal, which is linked to deforestation. Its improved cookstoves also use less fuel and produce less soot, supporting efforts to reduce household air pollution and carbon emissions.
The company plans to fully automate its production line and establish distribution hubs in Isingiro, Ntungamo, Rukungiri and Ishaka.
It also intends to strengthen partnerships with organisations such as Renewable Hub and Hub Energy as it expands its operations.
Elsmart is further preparing to enter the carbon credit market, which could provide an additional source of revenue from the environmental benefits generated by its clean cooking technologies.
What began as Muhudi’s response to his mother’s smoke-related illness has grown into a business with ambitions to improve public health, protect the environment and create economic opportunities.
As Uganda works to move millions of households away from traditional biomass cooking, Elsmart is showing how locally produced technologies can offer a practical path towards healthier families, sustainable businesses and a cleaner environment.
