Name

Circle Gas

Legal name

Circle Gas Limited

Website

https://circlegas.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clean Cooking Solutions

NAICS

Natural Gas Distribution (22121), Natural Gas Distribution (2212), Natural Gas Distribution (221210)

SIC

Natural Gas Distribution (4924)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Distribution Company (LDC) Natural Gas Distribution Utilities (TLAGADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial CNG/LNG Supply & Distribution (Virtual Pipelines, Trucking, Satellite Storage) (EUALALAA), Gas Distribution Operations (Day-to-Day Field & System Operations) (EUAJAAAB)

Keywords

• Clean cooking solutions
• Pay-as-you-go LPG
• Smart meter technology
• Mobile money payments
• Carbon credit financing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. LPG Gas Sales (Pay-as-You-Go): Circle Gas installs equipment (stovetop, smart meter, gas cylinder) in customers' homes at no upfront cost. Customers pay for gas consumed via mobile money (M-Pesa), allowing purchases as small as meal-by-meal. This creates a steady stream of recurring revenue from gas sales generating reliable return on investment.
2. Carbon Credit Presales: Circle Gas generates carbon credits by displacing charcoal and kerosene with cleaner LPG. The company presells these carbon credits to fund expansion, with $15.6 million in presales recorded in 2024. The company is pursuing Paris Agreement Letter of Authorisation to upgrade credits for higher-value international markets, potentially unlocking at least $9 million in additional value.
3. Equipment Service and Maintenance: Company-owned equipment (stovetop, smart meter, gas cylinder) is maintained by Circle Gas, with local depots and motorised technicians providing cylinder replacements before customers run out.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Circle Gas delivers pay-as-you-go (PAYG) LPG cooking gas to low-income urban households in sub-Saharan Africa through proprietary NB-IoT smart meter technology. The company installs a complete equipment set (stovetop, smart meter, gas cylinder) in customers' homes at no upfront cost and enables gas purchases in increments as small as a single meal via M-Pesa mobile money. Operations span Kenya (via subsidiary M-Gas) and Tanzania (via KopaGas).

Product overview

Circle Gas is a pay-as-you-go clean cooking company offering LPG gas through a bundled hardware-software-service model. The core offering consists of proprietary Smart Meter technology (a 4th generation NB-IoT smart meter with automatic shut-off and remote monitoring), paired with the Inergy backend system for account management and scheduling, the Customer App for consumption monitoring, and the Smart Sale App for field operations. The company operates through sub-brands M-Gas (Kenya) and KopaGas (Tanzania), providing complete equipment installation (stovetop, smart meter, gas cylinder) to customers who pay incrementally via M-Pesa mobile money. The IoT Cloud Gateway enables secure communication between smart meters and central systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• M-Gas PAYG LPG Cooking Gas (Kenya) Pay-as-you-go LPG cooking gas service for urban low-income households in Kenya. Customers receive free installation of stovetop, smart meter, and gas cylinder and purchase gas in small increments via M-Pesa mobile money, even meal-by-meal.
• KopaGas PAYG LPG Cooking Gas (Tanzania) Pay-as-you-go LPG cooking gas service for urban low-income households in Tanzania (Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar), operating the KopaGas brand acquired by Circle Gas in 2020.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67% reduction in net carbon emissions when switching from harvested wood to LPG
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and flagship.

• QuectelcoreTechnology or Integration · 24 August 2021Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Quectel, a leading IoT module supplier with over 3000 professionals. Circle Gas has used Quectel's NB-IoT modules since introducing the world's first LPG NB-IoT Smart Meter in Kenya. The partnership is developing next-generation smart meters using Quectel's multi-mode LPWA module with ultra-low power consumption, NB-IoT, Bluetooth, GNSS and eSIM capabilities.
• University of LiverpoolsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2021Research agreement with University of Liverpool's NIHR CLEAN-Air(Africa) Global Health Research Group to carry out research into transition to clean modern energy in Sub-Saharan Africa using Circle Gas's smart meter PAYG technology. Collaboration includes Amref International University (Kenya) and University of Dar es Salaam to evaluate positive social impact on customers and environment.
• SafaricomflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 December 2019Safaricom is a strategic investor in Circle Gas and has a wide-reaching operating agreement with M-Gas covering branding and marketing, technology and customer service. Safaricom provides its NB-IoT network for smart meter connectivity and M-Pesa for mobile money payments in Kenya. The partnership was extended in 2020 to include joint technology development, expertise sharing, co-creation of solutions, and market support.
• KopaGas (Acumen Fund and DEG/KfW backed)flagshipTechnology or Integration · 13 December 2019Acquisition of KopaGas's proprietary technology for USD 25 million, the largest-ever pure private equity investment in clean cooking technology sector. KopaGas had received early support from Acumen Fund and DEG/KfW. The acquisition provided Circle Gas with PAYG technology, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and positions in key LPG markets in East Africa (Tanzania). Founders Andron Mendes and Dr. Sebastian Rodriguez remained as key executives.
• KopaTech (China)coreTechnology or Integration · 13 December 2019KopaTech in China is responsible for technology development and smart meter production, operating as part of Circle Gas's subsidiary structure alongside Zhilang Technology.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PayGo Energy (now Sun King Clean Cooking): Was the most direct PAYG LPG competitor to Circle Gas in Kenya and Tanzania; co-founded by Nick Quintong (now MD of M-Gas Kenya) and acquired by Sun King in 2021. Operates the same PAYG LPG model with smart-meter cylinders for low-income households.
• M-Kopa: Kenya-headquartered PAYG energy platform serving off-grid households in East Africa with solar home systems and appliances. Targets the same low-income, mobile-money-native customer base as Circle Gas and competes for the same PAYG wallet share.
• Sun King (formerly Greenlight Planet): Global PAYG solar company that acquired PayGo Energy and operates a clean cooking division. Competes head-to-head with Circle Gas for PAYG clean-cooking customers in East Africa using a similar pay-as-you-go, mobile-money-enabled model.
• BBOXX: UK-based PAYG solar provider operating across East and West Africa with smart-meter-enabled home solar systems. Closely comparable PAYG unit economics, IoT metering stack, and distribution model for off-grid households.
• d.light: Global PAYG solar company with deep East African footprint. Competes with Circle Gas for the same off-grid, mobile-money-paying household customer and uses a similar pay-as-you-go, IoT-monitored distributed energy model.
• KOKO Networks: Kenya-based clean cooking company operating a tech-enabled fuel distribution network (initially ethanol, with clean cookstove and biofuel retail). Targets the same urban Kenyan low-income households as Circle Gas with an asset-light, tech-led clean-cooking model.
• BURN Manufacturing: Kenya-based manufacturer of efficient biomass and charcoal cookstoves, also distributing improved cookstoves to low-income households. Competes with Circle Gas for the same clean-cooking customer wallet by displacing traditional charcoal use, though via improved stoves rather than LPG.

Emerging players

• Sistema.bio: Mexico-headquartered biogas digester company with significant Kenya and East African operations. Competes indirectly with Circle Gas in the clean-cooking space by offering smallholder farmers a different clean-fuel alternative to charcoal and kerosene.

Regional players

• Rubis Energy Kenya: Kenyan LPG and petroleum marketer and one of the three largest oil marketing companies in Kenya. Competes with Circle Gas for LPG household customers in Kenya but uses a traditional deposit-based cylinder model rather than PAYG.

Broad incumbents

• TotalEnergies Marketing (East Africa): Global integrated energy major with LPG bottling

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Circle Gas