Tonza offers solar‑powered vending carts that replace charcoal with a smokeless electric cooker, providing street food vendors in Nairobi and similar African cities with clean, fast‑heating cooking, on‑cart electricity for lighting and phone charging, and a mobile, low‑maintenance design. The solution cuts fuel costs by up to 9,000 KES per month, eliminates hazardous smoke exposure, and enables vendors to increase earnings while operating safely after dark.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Street food vendors in Nairobi rely on charcoal and other dirty fuels, exposing them to hazardous smoke that causes health issues equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day and inflating fuel costs, which erodes already thin profit margins.
Solution
Tonza provides a solar‑powered vending cart that replaces charcoal with a clean, fast‑heating cooker. The cart integrates a solar canopy that supplies electricity for lighting and phone charging, enabling vendors to operate safely after dark. By eliminating smoke, the system improves the health of cooks and customers while reducing fuel expenses by up to 9,000 KES per month. The mobile, low‑maintenance design fits Nairobi’s dense streets, allowing vendors to set up quickly at any location and scale their business without additional infrastructure.
Target Audience
Primary customers are informal street food vendors operating in Nairobi and similar African urban markets who need affordable, portable cooking solutions that improve earnings and health.
Features
- Solar‑charged battery pack that powers a smokeless electric cooker and auxiliary loads such as LED lighting and mobile phone charging
- Compact, rugged cart chassis optimized for narrow urban streets and easy relocation
- Fast‑heat electric cooking element that delivers cooking times comparable to traditional charcoal grills
- Integrated health benefits through zero‑smoke operation, reducing respiratory exposure for vendors
- Cost‑saving model that offsets charcoal purchases, delivering up to 9,000 KES monthly savings per vendor