Across Africa, institutional facilities such as schools, hospitals, correctional facilities, military installations, refugee camps, universities, training centres, and large catering operations prepare millions of meals daily using inefficient and polluting cooking systems. The vast majority of these institutions continue to rely on firewood, charcoal, kerosene, and low-efficiency biomass technologies, creating a persistent burden on public budgets, natural ecosystems, public health systems, and national climate commitments. Today, nearly one billion people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to clean cooking solutions, representing almost four in every five households, and institutional energy systems remain even further behind in modernisation. Traditional cooking practices contribute to approximately 815,000 premature deaths annually in Africa due to household and occupational air pollution, driven by exposure to fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) and carbon monoxide. Across the continent, lack of clean cooking contributes to the loss of approximately 1.3 million hectares of forest each year and generates climate emissions equivalent to roughly one-quarter of Africa’s total energy-related CO₂ emissions.