About Us
About Pawafan
Pawafan is a youth-led for profit and social enterprise that innovates smart energy products and services that improves lives. Using a market based approach, Pawafan develops a product line of smart clean cooking and lighting technologies that are economic and faster while reducing fossil fuel use, smoke and toxic emissions. Serving households that are in energy poverty, reducing climate change, creating new jobs and enabling families to save.
Pawafan has three operating units:
1. Solar Systems
2. Biodigester
3. Induction Stoves
Pawafan supplies solar home systems, biodigester solutions that converts animal and agricultural waste into biogas and also supplies electromagnetic induction stoves (branded ‘eCook’) that can be electric or solar powered. Both the biodigester and eCook stoves are connected to Internet of Things (IoT) technology, which generates real-time data. Pawafan deploys a pay-as-you-go (“PAYGO”) consumer finance model.
Panashe Ziwende
CEO & FOUNDER
Need help? Contact me
+263713066581 or panashe@pawafan.co.zw
Our History
The Best Clean Cooking Services
From 2022
Our Most Efficient Year
Founded in 2022, to date Pawafan has impacted more than 1,000 direct beneficiaries, trained more than 10,000 individuals and has a pre-book list of over 3,000 households.
Working With The Best
Our Partners
Rural communities in Zimbabwe face significant challenges in accessing clean energy, improving agricultural productivity, and leveraging digital technologies, hindering their economic development and well-being. Specifically:
- 70% of rural households lack access to reliable and clean energy, relying on hazardous and expensive alternatives.
- Smallholder farmers struggle with low crop yields, limited access to markets, and inadequate agricultural support.
- Rural communities are largely excluded from the digital economy, lacking access to digital services, information, and opportunities.
These challenges perpetuate poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation, underscoring the need for a comprehensive solution that addresses energy, agriculture, and digital inclusion in Zimbabwe.
Problem Statement
Our Solution
Pawafan offers an integrated solution that addresses the energy, agriculture, and digital needs of rural communities in Zimbabwe. Our comprehensive approach includes:
- Clean Energy Access: Biogas systems and solar energy solutions provide reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for lighting, cooking, and powering small appliances.
- Agricultural Productivity: Biogas fertilizer, solar-powered irrigation systems, and agricultural training enhance crop yields, improve food security, and increase farmers’ income.
- Digital Inclusion: Our kiosks and e-commerce platform offer digital services, including airtime top-up, bill payments, digital content, and access to markets, bridging the rural-urban divide.
- Empowerment: We empower rural communities, especially women and youth, with energy access, agricultural support, and digital literacy, creating new economic opportunities and improving their overall well-being.
By addressing these interconnected challenges, Pawafan creates a thriving ecosystem that fosters sustainable development, economic growth, and environmental stewardship in rural Zimbabwe.
Clean Cooking
Globally, four billion people lack access to clean cooking, with Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 emissions exposure causing multiple health issues for women. For households earning less than $10/day (Base of Pyramid, BoP), 1.5 days per month are spent on collecting wood while three hours per day are spent on household chores due to inefficient cooking. 60% of households in Zimbabwe still use biomass for cooking, killing more people through smoke inhalation each year than traffic accidents. More so, the high upfront cost of accessing clean cooking solutions. Pawafan is introducing two clean cooking solutions:
- An electric/solar powered ecookstove
- Biogas powered cookstove.
The cookstove biodigester is flood-resistant and can be commercially distributed through retail channels and is designed to cater to the needs of rural families who require only 2 livestocks or 5kg of waste per day. The kit will consist of the cookstove, biogas digestor, pay as you go meter and a rice cooker. The biodigester has an expected lifespan of 25 years and the cookstove has 3 years warranty and they come pay as go enabled. Each biodigester produces up to 1,800 liters of renewable biogas per day, benefiting agriculture by increasing crop yield by up to 32%. The induction e-cooker uses magnetic technology for efficient heat transfer, is 50% cheaper than LPG, and offers high energy efficiency. It also offers a 3-year warranty and a 2-way payment system for mobile money accounts. It can be powered by electric or solar.