PayGas Partnered with CCA to launch Pay as you Gas™ LPG Micro-refilling Station Pilot in Soweto, Johannesburg
PayGas is a Cape Town-based pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) LPG company that aims to bring affordable clean cooking options to low-income households by disrupting the traditional household LPG market. Through a patented, cashless, gas dispensing solution, PayGas’ business model allows customers to refill as much gas as they can afford in a safe and convenient way, thereby lowering the price entry point for LPG cooking fuel. With PayGas’ solution, customers can easily walk to the closest Pay as you Gas™ station in their neighborhood and purchase small quantities of gas using a cashless payment system.
The Clean Cooking Alliance’s (CCA) Venture Catalyst Program teamed up with PayGas to establish an expansion pilot station in Soweto, Johannesburg. This was PayGas’ first station outside the greater Cape Town area and an important milestone for the company’s planned expansion across South Africa. CCA’s support helped PayGas navigate through issues such as site selection, planning, health and safety compliance, and local authority approvals for the commissioning of the station.
Following its launch in mid-March 2021, the Johannesburg station recorded over 3,000 transactions in its first 12 weeks of trading and selling in excess of 10 tons of LPG. Due to the success of the Johannesburg pilot, PayGas has extended agreements with key operational partners in South Africa Afrox (LPG supplier) and Pick ‘n’ Pay (a leading supermarket retailer) for the deployment of 50 new PayGas stations in major townships across South Africa over the next two years. CCA will also support PayGas in their exploration of other markets and will initially fund feasibility studies for three West African countries: Côte d’ Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal. The feasibility studies will give PayGas a detailed view into business expansion factors in these markets.
“Without CCA’s support, I’m not sure we would have established this new PayGas location in such a quick time. As soon as CCA was behind it, other stakeholders were very engaged… It’s very important for a startup like ours to have the support of a clean cooking champion such as CCA. It’s an endorsement of our mission to provide affordable cooking gas through safe and locally managed dispensing stations.”
– Philippe Hoeblich CEO and Founder of PayGas