Safaricom and M-Gas have announced the launch of a, prepaid gas service for Kenyan households. The innovation will empower millions of Kenyan homes to enjoy access to affordable and reliable cooking gas. It will also provide them with the flexibility of purchasing gas based on their needs and how much they can afford at a time.
M-Gas is tackling existing access barriers to clean cooking by eradicating both the upfront cost required for a gas cylinder and gas cooker, often more than KES 6,000 and the high refill cost of KES 2,000 per cylinder.
Michael Joseph, CEO of Safaricom said Safaricom’s partnership with M-Gas will for the first time empower millions of Kenyans with affordable access to clean cooking gas, an opportunity we believe has been previously underserved”.
How M-Gas works
Each M-Gas setup will include a gas cylinder and a 2-burner gas cooker which will be provided to customers at no upfront cost. The gas cylinder will come equipped with an innovative smart meter that will show how much gas a customer has paid for and how much they have remaining. Payments will be made through M-PESA with the gas automatically disconnecting when a customer has completely consumed the amount paid for.
The Head of M-Gas Mr Volker Schultz said M-Gas is proud to be working with Safaricom on this pioneering effort to bring affordable, convenient and clean cooking solutions to millions of low-income households in Kenya. Safaricom is a leader in both technology and customer service and M-Gas looks forward to building on this exciting new partnership.
The M-Gas solution has been made possible by Safaricom’s Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB IoT) network and M-PESA. Powered by Safaricom’s robust 4G network, NB IoT provides a low-power, mobile connectivity to devices across the country, including to beverage coolers, allowing for remote monitoring and management.
