KOKO’s Technology Production Facility Inaugurated in Nairobi

Ahead of the Go-Live of KOKO’s Greater Nairobi Network, the company officially inaugurates 17,500 sq.ft facility that is the beating heart of its Nairobi operations

Nairobi, 12 March 2019 – KOKO Networks today cut the ribbon on its state-of-the-art technology production facility in Ruaraka, Nairobi, in an event attended by senior politicians, business leaders and KOKO’s partners from Vivo Energy Kenya.

Speaking at the launch, Betty Maina, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industrialisation, said, “The technology we are inaugurating today is exciting and a show of what we can do together. The future is bright for affordable energy in Kenya. We have been seeking to answer the question of affordable energy and looking to find a working solution and I believe KOKO provides this opportunity.’’

KOKO is mainstreaming bioethanol cooking fuel in Kenya, starting in Nairobi, in partnership with Vivo Energy and a network of KOKO Agent shopkeepers across the city.  Through a unique hardware and software platform that combines Kenyan ingenuity with leading-edge IoT (Internet-of-Things) technologies, KOKO has created the world’s first Smart Fuel ATM network in Nairobi.

Customers purchase a next-generation KOKO Cooker at their local KOKO Agent or via the myKOKO smartphone app, top up their KOKO Fuel account via M-Pesa, and then access bioethanol cooking fuel at any ‘KOKO Point’ Fuel ATM.  This consumer offering is based on years of research and development that involved listening to Kenyan households and building a modern, safe and affordable cooking solution that meets their needs.

KOKO’s Kenya Facility produces three core fuel distribution technologies.  KOKO Point Fuel ATMs are built from hundreds of component parts, all of which are expertly assembled and tested by a skilled team of engineers and technicians at the Technology Production Facility, before being deployed into KOKO Agent stores.  The facility also produces the Smart Depot Systems and Smart Tanker Systems that enable Vivo Energy to safely control the flow of fuel through the last mile, from Shell-branded service stations, into a fleet of Smart MicroTankers, and finally through to the refilling of KOKOpoints at KOKO Agents.

KOKOpoints are IoT-enabled and cloud-connected, sending a real-time “heartbeat” to a high-tech Network Operations Centre, located at the Facility, where the team monitors the technical and operational health of the Network of KOKO Points and coordinates customer and Agent service, field maintenance and optimises KOKO Fuel and KOKO Cooker logistics.

The Facility also contains an international-standard fully-equipped laboratory for testing fuel samples and emissions of both KOKO Fuel and other fuels in the market.

KOKO’s technology platform delivers major cost efficiencies and removes the need for a centralized bottling facility and disposable plastic bottles, and so enables bioethanol cooking fuel to deliver significant cost savings to Kenyan households, who have been suffering under increasing kerosene and charcoal prices.

KOKO is this year building its Greater Nairobi fuel distribution network by deploying hundreds of “KOKO Point” fuel ATMs across the greater Nairobi metropolitan area, from Thika to Athi River, and from Kiserian to Limuru.  This Network will go live in the coming months, enabling customers safe and affordable access to clean bioethanol cooking fuel within a short distance of their home at any local KOKO Agent.