LANFORCE ENERGY
LOCATION
ZIMBABWE
SECTOR
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
YEAR OF INVESTMENT
2024
Lanforce Energy is a women-led for-profit social enterprise providing clean energy alternatives and agricultural solutions in the form of biogas digesters and solar home systems to the rural communities of Zimbabwe to end energy poverty. The company constructs fixed dome biogas digesters for farms, households, hotels, and institutions as well as provides training on installation and maintenance of prefabricated biodigesters (which are imported from Sistema Bio and distributed) which are scalable depending on energy requirements.
According to an annual report from UNDP in 2022, over 95% of Zimbabwe’s population depends on firewood for cooking and heating. The country faces an estimated loss of 257,000 hectares of forest yearly due to deforestation. In the Zambezi Valley, the demand for firewood and land clearing for agriculture are major contributors to this issue. Additionally, the responsibility of collecting firewood often falls on women and young people, consuming valuable time. This task can also be dangerous, resulting in conflicts with wildlife in the region.
The company is a market leader in Zimbabwe and the sole authorized distributor of Sistema Bio prefabricated modular biodigesters. They sell their units, primarily to smallholder and medium-scale farmers and low-income households, thereby increasing access to clean cooking technologies for rural and underserved communities.
The advantages of clean cooking not only alleviate the burden of firewood transport but also reduce smoke exposure in kitchens, which disproportionately affects women and vulnerable children. This improvement allows women to engage in more productive activities.