CleanStar Ventures

What CleanStar Ventures does

CleanStar Ventures is a privately held advisory and investment firm founded in 2007 and headquartered in Kampala, Uganda, focused exclusively on founding and scaling ethanol-based cooking fuel ventures in emerging markets. The firm operates a venture-creation model: it conceives, launches, and operates portfolio companies that deploy ethanol cooking technology and last-mile fuel distribution systems to urban households in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its two flagship ventures are NDZiLO Mozambique, a commercial pilot that rolled out ethanol cooking to 10% of Maputo's households, and KOKO Networks, an ethanol cooking technology company that built a proprietary integrated hardware-and-software platform deployed in Kenya, where it achieved uptake in 25% of all urban homes.

The underlying technology centers on ethanol-based cooking fuel — a clean alternative to charcoal and wood — paired with proprietary last-mile distribution systems and, in KOKO's case, an integrated hardware/software platform connecting fuel vending hardware to back-end software. CleanStar monetizes primarily through advisory services rather than direct product sales; the firm is currently advising on the sale of KOKO Networks' technology platform and manufacturing facilities. The team is small (1–10 employees), led by co-founder and managing partner Gregory Murray and managing director Don Murray, and operates with a narrow geographic footprint concentrated in Mozambique and Kenya. No funding rounds, parent company, or institutional investors are disclosed in the available material, and revenue figures are not public.

Name

CleanStar Ventures

Legal name

CleanStar Ventures

Website

https://cleanstarventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CleanStar Ventures is a Kampala-based advisory and investment firm that creates and scales ethanol-cooking-fuel ventures for urban households in emerging African markets, with flagship portfolio companies KOKO Networks (Kenya) and NDZiLO Mozambique.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clean Energy Venture Advisory

NAICS

Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities (523999)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Clean cooking fuel
• Venture advisory services
• Ethanol fuel distribution
• Emerging market investment
• Clean energy ventures

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Advisory Services: CleanStar Ventures provides advisory services, currently advising on the sale of KOKO's technology platform and manufacturing facilities

Core offering

CleanStar Ventures is an advisory and investment firm that founds, scales, and divests ethanol-based cooking fuel ventures targeting households in emerging markets. Its principal deliverables are advisory services on the structuring and sale of clean cooking technology platforms (notably KOKO Networks), supported by 15 years of operating experience in ethanol fuel distribution across East Africa.

Product overview

CleanStar Ventures is an advisory and investment firm with 15 years of experience in founding and scaling ethanol-based cooking fuel ventures in emerging markets. The firm does not offer a single unified product or platform but rather operates as an investment advisor managing a portfolio of ethanol cooking fuel ventures. Key portfolio companies include NDZiLO Mozambique, a commercial pilot validating consumer demand for ethanol cooking in Maputo, and KOKO Networks, an ethanol cooking technology company with an integrated hardware and software platform deployed in Kenya.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Validated consumer demand for ethanol cooking fuel globally for the first time
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• KOKO NetworkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCleanStar Ventures founded and scaled KOKO Networks, an ethanol cooking technology company that built a proprietary integrated hardware and software platform. The platform was successfully deployed in Kenya and achieved uptake in 25% of all urban homes. CleanStar is currently advising on the sale of KOKO's technology platform and manufacturing facilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Novastar Ventures: Novastar is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage businesses serving East African low-income consumers. It is comparable to CleanStar as a venture-building investor in East Africa focused on serving emerging-market households.
• Acumen: Acumen is a global impact investor that has backed multiple clean energy and clean cooking ventures across Africa and South Asia. It is comparable to CleanStar as a long-horizon investor building and scaling clean energy ventures in emerging markets.

Direct peers

• Sistema.bio: Sistema.bio designs, finances, and distributes small-scale biogas digesters for smallholder farmers across emerging markets including East Africa. It is comparable to CleanStar's ventures as a clean cooking technology company operating in the same emerging-market household segment.
• Fenix International (ENGIE): Fenix International, acquired by ENGIE, pioneered pay-as-you-go solar home systems in Uganda and East Africa using last-mile distribution and mobile payments. It is comparable to CleanStar's portfolio ventures as a clean energy access company serving East African urban households.
• BioLite: BioLite manufactures clean cookstoves with thermoelectric generators for off-grid households in emerging markets. It targets the same clean cooking segment as CleanStar-affiliated ventures and pursues similar last-mile distribution innovations.
• Paygo Energy: Paygo Energy distributes clean cooking gas (LPG) via pay-as-you-go technology to low-income households in Kenya. It targets the same urban emerging-market household segment as KOKO Networks and competes in the clean cooking fuel category.
• BURN Manufacturing: BURN manufactures and distributes efficient cookstoves and clean cooking fuel across East Africa, including Kenya. It directly addresses the same clean cooking household segment as CleanStar's portfolio ventures (KOKO Networks, NDZiLO).
• African Clean Energy: African Clean Energy (ACE) produces clean cookstoves and pellet fuel for households in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. It directly competes in the clean cooking household segment targeted by CleanStar's portfolio companies.
• d.light: d.light designs, manufactures, and distributes affordable solar lanterns and home energy systems across emerging markets including East Africa. It operates in the same affordable clean energy access space as CleanStar's portfolio companies.
• Sun King (Greenlight Planet): Sun King is a leading pay-as-you-go solar home energy provider in East Africa and other emerging markets. It shares CleanStar's focus on affordable last-mile energy distribution to off-grid urban households, and was co-founded by the same investor network that backed KOKO Networks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cleanstar-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about CleanStar Ventures