Nairobi — Clean cooking energy firm Koko Networks Limited and its subsidiary, Koko Networks Global Services (Kenya) Limited, have been placed under administration, signaling a likely exit of one of Kenya's most prominent bioethanol distribution ventures.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) partners Muniu Thoithi and George Weru have been appointed joint administrators on February 1, 2026, assuming control of the companies' assets and operations under the Insolvency Act, 2015.
The administration places the firms under statutory protection as the administrators evaluate options to rescue the businesses as going concerns or secure better outcomes for creditors than would be achieved through liquidation.
"The primary objective of administration proceedings under the Insolvency Act is to allow Administrators... to explore ways of rescuing the company as a going concern where feasible," the notice said.
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"With their appointment, the Administrators have taken over control and management of the assets and affairs of the Companies."
PwC said all operational, financial and strategic matters relating to the companies will now be handled exclusively by the administrators or their authorised representatives.
Creditors have been given 14 days to lodge their claims for inclusion in the companies' rolls of creditors, a key step in establishing the scale of liabilities facing the firms.
The development follows Koko Networks' decision last week to shut down operations in Kenya, ending services to thousands of households that relied on its ethanol-based cooking fuel.
Customers were informed of the closure through a brief text message sent on Saturday.
The shutdown brings to an end nearly a decade of operations in Kenya, where Koko positioned itself as a low-cost, clean alternative to charcoal and kerosene for low- and middle-income households in urban areas.
The company operated a network of smart fuel dispensers linked to digitally enabled cookers, forming one of the largest clean cooking distribution systems in the country.
Industry sources attribute the collapse largely to difficulties in monetising carbon credits, a central pillar of Koko's business model. Revenues from carbon credits generated by households switching to cleaner cooking fuel were used to subsidise fuel prices and sustain the company's capital-intensive distribution network.
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However, delays in securing government approval to trade carbon credits internationally are understood to have strained cash flows, leaving the firm exposed to rising operating costs and regulatory uncertainty.
Koko had invested heavily in infrastructure, rolling out hundreds of automated dispensers across Nairobi and other towns, supported by a network of last-mile agents.
The closure is expected to affect thousands of customers, as well as employees and agents, while energy sector analysts warn the exit could push some households back to charcoal and kerosene, potentially undermining clean energy adoption and public health gains linked to reduced indoor air pollution.
The firm's exit underscores the broader challenges facing clean cooking and climate-focused startups in Kenya, particularly those dependent on carbon markets amid evolving regulatory frameworks.
