LAPO Microfinance Bank has backed Nigeria’s 80 Million Clean Cookstoves Project, signalling a strategic bet on the country’s emerging clean energy and carbon credit markets as financial institutions deepen their exposure to climate-linked assets.
The nationwide initiative, promoted by GreenPlinth Africa and supported by government and development partners, will deploy energy-efficient cookstoves across all states while advancing a parallel plan to plant up to four billion economic trees. Together, the interventions are designed to curb deforestation, lower household energy costs, and expand Nigeria’s footprint in the global carbon market, where participation remains limited.
For LAPO MfB, the project aligns climate action with its microfinance model. By financing access to clean cooking technology for low-income households, the bank is supporting productivity gains at the household level while reducing reliance on firewood, an activity linked to an estimated 85 per cent of Nigeria’s deforestation.
Cynthia Ikponmwosa, managing director of LAPO Microfinance Bank, said that clean cookstoves offer dual economic and health benefits, cutting indoor air pollution and respiratory illness while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pressure on forest resources.
Government officials say the scale of the project supports Nigeria’s broader decarbonisation agenda. *Rotimi Akodu, Senior Special Adviser on Environment to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, noted that Lagos remains heavily exposed to climate risks and has prioritised interventions that reduce emissions from household energy use.
From a market’s perspective, the initiative’s size is drawing attention. Tunde Lemo, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and a member of the project’s advisory board, said the rollout could generate significant carbon credits and, when fully implemented, deliver emissions reductions at a scale rarely seen in household energy transitions globally.
The project underscores a shift in how Nigerian financial institutions are approaching sustainability by moving beyond corporate social responsibility toward commercially viable climate investments tied to carbon markets, energy access, and inclusive growth.