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ENGIE Africa partners with PayGas to provide affordable clean cooking to 20,000 beneficiaries in South Africa

ENGIE Africa announces its partnership with PayGas, a startup that applies a patented Pay-as-you-Gas™ technology for the purchase of LPG, affordable clean gas for cooking, heating and lighting.

As part of ENGIE Africa’s commitment to energy transition, it is opening today 2 Pay-as-you-Gas refilling stations in Cape Town. The first one, in Nyanga, and the second one, in Philippi. The implementation of this pilot has created 12 full-time jobs and will service 4,000 homes, directly benefitting about 20,000 people.

ENGIE Africa is committed to promoting innovators in the African energy ecosystem, providing them with a range of support tools, including access to its expertise and network building.

Philippi and Nyanga suburbs are among Cape Town’s worst affected by COVID-19. ENGIE Africa and PayGas are committed to deploying this technology, recognized as service for essential needs to help locals already affected by the pandemic to avoid the dangerous usage of paraffin, which can cause fires and health issues such as toxic inhalation.

As of today, PayGas users can purchase an electronic voucher at any local shop, go to the closest Pay-as-you-Gas™ station, and use the PayGas application to fill their cylinder, either totally or partially, for as little as 10 ZAR (€0.5).

PayGas was launched in April 2019 and already has close to 1,700 customers. It opened its first refilling station in the Cape Town township of Delft, servicing more than 7,500 low-income beneficiaries. It aims to deploy 52 more stations in the next 4 years, reaching more than 150,000 customers and creating 300 jobs. The startup is tapping into a €530 million market for low-income household energy inclusion in South Africa, and €180 billion globally.

According to the “Africa Energy Outlook 2019” (IEA), the number of people without access to clean cooking exceeded 900 million in 2018. In 32 African countries, more than 75% of the population lack access to clean cooking.

PayGas’s mission is to offer wider access to clean gas to low-income households that are not always able to afford a full cylinder. The company developed a proprietary technology that fractions gas purchases into smaller quantities, making the purchase process more flexible and hence affordable to low-income households in South Africa.

In less than 18 months, PayGas has won major awards for its disruptive technology in the energy industry, turning into a key player in sustainable energy delivery for the city of Cape Town. It is currently focusing on the South African market and it plans to scale its offering to other countries throughout Africa. In November 2019, PayGas was awarded the Clean Cooking Challenge launched by ENGIE Africa at AfricArena Summit. In February 2020, PayGas was awarded by WESGRO and the CAP 40 in two categories, Smart Cities & Sustainability and Entrepreneur of the Year.

“At ENGIE Africa, we thrive to help entrepreneurs and startups establish stronger connections with the large-scale energy users and investors. We are happy to see this pilot becoming a reality, being a real example of how we elevate the visibility of growing innovative energy solutions and help them to scale up, expand their business opportunities, and gain a foothold in the African market,” explains Carole Henry, Head of Innovation & Digital at ENGIE Africa.

«ENGIE Africa’s support for the 2 new PayGas stations in Nyanga and Philippi is a major step in the commercial deployment of PayGas after the initial pilot phase in Delft. This deployment confirms the role of PayGas as an actor in the energy and digital transition among low-income urban populations in South Africa.» announces Philippe Hoeblich, CEO and Founder of PayGas.

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