Press Release: iDE Announces Impact Investment in Clean Cooking Tech Company ATEC - 3 July 2024
Making its first Series A impact investment, iDE supports market-based approaches to improve climate resilience and women’s health
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Simon Crittle (email: scrittle@ideglobal.org)
PHNOM PENH/DENVER – (July 3, 2024) iDE is proud to announce its first investment under its impact investment arm, iDE Ventures (SG) Pte. Ltd., participating in ATEC’s US$3.75M Series A funding round supporting ATEC’s expansion of market-leading smart electric stoves across Asia and Africa.
Founded in Cambodia in 2016, ATEC is a global leader in Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled electric stoves that connect households to global carbon markets. Their innovative products not only provide affordable and clean cooking solutions but also generate data-verifiable carbon credits, addressing over-crediting issues in carbon markets.
“Through this investment, iDE is broadening our market-based strategies to empower entrepreneurs to deliver scalable impact in the clean cooking sector,” said iDE chief executive officer Elizabeth Welch. “The clean cooking sector is strategic to iDE because it is at the critical intersection of climate change and the health of women and children. Our investment in ATEC perfectly aligns with our commitment to support innovative solutions that foster sustainable and transformative change in the sector.”
The investment will help ATEC scale its operations and enhance its R&D efforts, focusing on the latest developments in IoT and Web3.0 technologies. The ultimate goal is to generate 10 Gigawatt Hours of decarbonized cooking per day within the next decade, reducing carbon emissions by up to 10 million tons per year.
"ATEC’s mission is to empower 800 million women across the Global South to not only play an active role in reducing climate change but also turn it into an income opportunity,” said Ben Jeffreys, ATEC co-founder & CEO. “With this funding, we will expand our partnerships with last-mile distributors across Asia and Africa with iDE already being a key partner in Bangladesh and Cambodia.”
This round of impact investments is co-led by Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia (SEEAA) and Spark+ Africa Fund, with other institutional investments from DRW, Save the Children Global Ventures, and Kibo Investments.
iDE has a history of collaboration with ATEC in Cambodia and Bangladesh, working on projects funded by entities such as the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA) and Danida. These projects have focused on scaling up electric cooking solutions and identifying market-based approaches to incentivize their adoption.
“Our partnership with ATEC is a testament to our belief in the power of market-based solutions. We are excited to see the significant health and environmental benefits this investment will deliver to the communities we serve,” Welch said.
For more information about iDE visit www.ideglobal.org
For more information about ATEC and their innovative solutions, visit www.atecglobal.io
Contact:
iDE: Simon Crittle, scrittle@ideglobal.org
ATEC: Ben Jeffreys,
About iDE
iDE’s mission is to end global poverty, and we believe catalyzing the power of local markets is the best way to do this. We work with local entrepreneurs who connect underserved, last-mile markets with products and services that enable people to move up the economic ladder, and that contribute to their well-being. Rather than providing cookie-cutter “solutions” that only last for the short term, iDE spends the time required to understand problems and develop lasting solutions, adapted to each context. We work in 12 countries across Central America, Africa, and Asia, and have impacted more than 40 million people since we began operations in 1982.
About ATEC
ATEC is a global leader in IoT-enabled electric stoves which connects households to global carbon markets. Founded in Cambodia in 2016, ATEC developed the world’s first PAYG-enabled cookstove product in 2018, followed by the first IoT-enabled smart stove in 2020. ATEC currently distributes its products in 10 countries across Asia and Africa, with the goal of bringing the benefits of electric cooking and carbon markets to all women in the Global South.