The GSMA Innovation Fund start-up, ATEC, has developed an innovative electromagnetic induction stove that provides clean cooking, available on a PAYG basis, making them affordable to households with very low incomes.

In Bangladesh, 65% of households still use biomass for cooking. The emissions and smoke inhalation resulting from dirty cooking methods cause multiple health issues, particularly for women. For households earning less than $10 a day, 1.5 days a month are spent collecting wood, while up to three hours a day are spent on household chores due to inefficient cooking. With funding from the GSMA, ATEC has developed and launched an Android mobile app that integrates with eCook stove units. The app shows users real-time electricity usage data, payment status and any carbon offset data, enabling them to pay as little as $5 a month. The stove will also automatically mint Gold Standard-certified carbon credits. These credits can be sold to ATEC’s international corporate partners and on carbon markets. The benefits from the sale of carbon credits will be shared with users by subsidising their monthly instalments.

ATEC is one of the start-ups supported by the GSMA Innovation Fund for Digital Urban Services, which was launched in May 2021. This initiative is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and is supported by the GSMA and its members.

Learn more about the GSMA Innovation Fund here.