The Collapse of Koko Networks Pushes Creditors Into Losses as a Sh22 Billion Deficit Emerges
As filings are laid out, the losses facing Koko Networks creditors begin to show their full scale
Creditors of the collapsed clean cooking start-up Koko Networks are currently staring at a massive financial hole, facing losses totaling £126.9 million (approximately Sh21.96 billion).
New filings from the company’s UK-based parent firm reveal that the group holds total debts of £127.2 million (Sh22.01 billion) against a mere £1.45 million (Sh250.9 million) in assets available to preferential creditors.
This staggering imbalance leaves an estimated deficiency of nearly the entire debt stock, according to the company’s Notice of Statement of Affairs.
The collapse marks a swift downfall for a venture that, until recently, was the primary distributor of subsidized bioethanol stoves to over 1.5 million Kenyan households. The firm’s business model relied on the high-margin export of carbon credits to bridge the gap between its subsidized hardware costs and operational expenses.
The vast majority of the claims originate from within the Koko ecosystem itself. The filings list substantial debts owed to affiliate entities, including £44.2 million to Koko Networks Carbon Finance UK and £43.7 million to the Kenyan operating unit. Beyond internal bookkeeping, the list of creditors includes high-profile service providers and financial institutions.
The Swiss carbon credit certification body Gold Standard is owed £106,424, while Amazon Web Services holds a claim of £81,767. Standard Chartered Bank in the UK is also listed with a smaller claim of £11,129. These figures highlight the broad reach of the startup’s operational footprint before its liquidity crisis peaked in early 2026.
The primary catalyst for the insolvency was the Kenyan government’s refusal to grant Koko a letter of approval (LoA) to sell carbon credits in global compliance markets. Unlike voluntary markets where credits trade at lower prices, compliance markets—often used by major airlines to meet legal offset requirements—offer prices near $20 per credit, roughly 10 times the voluntary rate.
Authorities denied the license on the grounds that Koko’s projected volumes would have consumed a disproportionate share of Kenya’s national carbon market quota. Without access to these lucrative regulated markets, the company’s directors concluded that the subsidized fuel and stove model was no longer viable. In the fiscal year ending December 2025, Koko Networks reported revenues of £44.7 million, but these gains were insufficient to offset the lack of carbon financing.
Joint administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) are now tasked with salvaging value from the remaining physical and intellectual property. Assets up for potential sale include specialized fuel-dispensing machines, a fleet of vehicles, and a portfolio of patents covering liquid fuel delivery systems in markets such as India, Nigeria, and South Africa.
A virtual meeting for creditors has been scheduled for April 10, 2026. During this session, PwC is expected to present a formal statement of proposals regarding the winding down of operations and any potential for marginal recoveries. Creditors have been advised to request copies of these proposals by 5 pm on April 1, 2026, if they have not yet received them via standard channels.
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