UBWENGE

UBWENGE converts Kigali’s organic and paper waste into biomass briquettes and cookstoves — clean, affordable cooking fuel with the tagline For a green world. The process sorts waste, chops raw materials, and presses briquettes from sawdust, waste paper, and clay soil.

• Cohort: GIIH Cohort 2
• Status: Startup stage
• Products: Biomass briquettes & cookstoves
• Pricing: 300 RWF/kg (briquettes) · 15,000 RWF (cookstove)
• Target market: 215M RWF/year (schools, restaurants, prisons)
• Sector: Clean energy & waste management

The problem

• Limited clean fuel access — only 2% have access to clean and affordable cooking fuel (World Bank 2022)
• Waste crisis — more than 80% of waste produced in Kigali is unsorted and goes to Nduba landfill (REMA)
• Indoor air pollution — responsible for thousands of deaths in Rwanda; women and children most affected
• Climate change — deforestation from firewood and charcoal use

The solution

UBWENGE’s production line:

1. Sorting — organic waste, paper, and other recyclables separated at source
2. Chopping — raw materials processed into fine particles
3. Briquette press — sawdust, waste paper, and clay soil compressed into fuel briquettes

Products: biomass briquettes and compatible cookstoves.

Impact

UBWENGE creates green jobs:

• Briquette producers (full-time)
• Waste collectors
• Data collectors and marketers

Environmental: 1 tonne of briquettes = 17 trees saved (US EPA equivalent). Revenue to date: 147,000 RWF — 75% restaurants, 10% households, 15% bakeries.

Market size

• 50 schools × 100 kg/week → 78M RWF/year
• 120 restaurants × 40 kg/week → 75M RWF/year
• 8 prisons × 500 kg/week → 62M RWF/year

Total target market: 215 million RWF · Target market share (25%): 54 million RWF

Cost structure

Production cost per 1 tonne of briquettes:

• Newspaper (200 kg): 8,000 RWF
• Sawdust (600 kg): 16,000 RWF
• Clay soil (200 kg): 40,000 RWF
• Labour: 25,000 RWF
• Transport: 30,000 RWF
• Total: 119,000 RWF/tonne

Revenue model

• Main revenue: Briquettes at 300 RWF/kg
• Secondary revenue: Cookstoves at 15,000 RWF/piece

Test sales (490 kg): revenue 147,000 RWF · cost 58,300 RWF · profit 88,700 RWF

Competition

UBWENGE occupies the clean and affordable quadrant:

• Firewood & charcoal — affordable but not clean
• LPG & biogas — clean but expensive
• UBWENGE briquettes — clean AND affordable

Traction

• Nov 2022: Initial prototype — 0 RWF sales, 1+ tonne produced, 3 final project reports written
• May 2023: Minimum viable product — 147K RWF sales, 1+ tonne produced, 5 concept notes in progress
• Dec 2023: Product in market — 54M RWF sales target, 1+ tonne produced, 3 papers published
• Future: Expansion outside Rwanda

Funding needs

Seeking 50 million RWF for scale-up:

• Logistics: 2 tricycles (YAMAHA 200cc/250cc) — 4M RWF
• Land: 20×30 sqm urban location — 25M RWF
• Equipment: 3 briquetting presses — 14M RWF
• Workshop: 7M RWF

Team

Two years of combined experience on this project.

• Hubert Taka — Briquette specialist & Team Leader
• Uwase Ruth — Distribution & Workshop Manager
• Mushimiyimana Joyeuse — Waste Management Specialist
• Espoir Baguma — Market Analyst & Finance Coordinator