How Tanzania’s clean cooking drive is reshaping LPG investment

By Hussein Boffu

Tanzania is at the centre of one of East Africa’s most consequential energy transitions. Some 77 percent of Tanzanians still cook with firewood and charcoal, linked to three to four million respiratory illness cases annually — a burden borne disproportionately by women and children.

The government’s response, the National Clean Cooking Strategy 2024–2034, is reshaping the commercial logic of Tanzania’s LPG sector and opening a $1 billion-plus market to investors, operators, and NGOs alike.

Policy clarity is unlocking capital

Infrastructure-heavy sectors like LPG depend on long planning horizons, and investors have historically hesitated without clear government direction.