Sagun Saxena
Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, KOKO Networks
Sagun Saxena is co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of KOKO Networks, a climate technology venture with 1,500+ employees across East Africa & India.
KOKO’s three lines of business are (1) KOKO Fuel, a liquid bioethanol-based cooking fuel solution delivered via a network of smart fuel ATMs placed in neighbourhood shops; (2) KOKO Climate, which retails the emissions reductions generated from switching households away from deforestation-based fuels; and (3) KOKO Club, a direct-to-consumer retail technology platform operated in partnership with local shopkeepers.
With nearly 600,000 households now using the KOKO Fuel solution, the company has been recognized widely for its impact and scalability, including recently as the FT/IFC Transformational Business of the Year.
Sagun oversees KOKO’s Cooker Manufacturing operations and KOKO Labs, which is conducting R&D on next-generation solutions for sustainable cooking and smart food distribution.
Sagun holds a B.S. Chemical Engineering from Berkeley and an MBA from Oxford.
Day 0
October 10
Sessions by Sagun Saxena
Day 1
October 11
Sessions by Sagun Saxena
3:50 pm-4:50 pm
Breakout Room A
Biofuels: Bridging the Urban and Rural Fuel Divide
Biofuels as a clean cooking fuel class is emerging as a commercial solution in many regions. Cooking with biofuels has the promise of offering both health and climate benefits to consumers but so far has had limited traction in the market. Today however, several companies are finding innovative ways to bring these fuels closer to consumers and improve affordability. With the scale achieved by KOKO Networks in bioethanol-based cooking and several biogas players expanding globally, biofuels are fast becoming renewable options for clean cooking. Building a conducive policy environment, increasing available capital, and growing the number of participating companies is essential to scale further.
This session will discuss the progress, opportunities, and challenges in the sector from the perspective of industry players and stakeholders working across Africa and Asia. Speakers will highlight business and policy opportunities in the biofuels sector and share future opportunities for expansion.
Speakers
Esther Altorfer
Chief Strategy Officer, Sistema.bio
Alicia El Mamouni
Executive Director, Pivot Clean Energy Co
Aukje de Jager
Country Sector Leader Renewable Energy, Mali, SNV
Lovans Owusu-Takyi
Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Solutions
Sagun Saxena
Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, KOKO Networks
Day 2
October 12
Sessions by Sagun Saxena
Day 3
October 13
Sessions by Sagun Saxena
Day 4
October 14
Sessions by Sagun Saxena
Sessions by Sagun Saxena
Sessions by Sagun Saxena
3:50 pm-4:50 pm
Breakout Room A
Biofuels: Bridging the Urban and Rural Fuel Divide
Biofuels as a clean cooking fuel class is emerging as a commercial solution in many regions. Cooking with biofuels has the promise of offering both health and climate benefits to consumers but so far has had limited traction in the market. Today however, several companies are finding innovative ways to bring these fuels closer to consumers and improve affordability. With the scale achieved by KOKO Networks in bioethanol-based cooking and several biogas players expanding globally, biofuels are fast becoming renewable options for clean cooking. Building a conducive policy environment, increasing available capital, and growing the number of participating companies is essential to scale further.
This session will discuss the progress, opportunities, and challenges in the sector from the perspective of industry players and stakeholders working across Africa and Asia. Speakers will highlight business and policy opportunities in the biofuels sector and share future opportunities for expansion.
Speakers
Esther Altorfer
Chief Strategy Officer, Sistema.bio
Alicia El Mamouni
Executive Director, Pivot Clean Energy Co
Aukje de Jager
Country Sector Leader Renewable Energy, Mali, SNV
Lovans Owusu-Takyi
Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Solutions
Sagun Saxena
Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, KOKO Networks