STAMICO’s briquette expansion faces market test as Tanzania raises cooking target

Dodoma. Tanzania’s latest push to expand access to cleaner cooking has put a new spotlight on whether the State Mining Corporation (STAMICO) can turn its investment in coal-based briquettes into an affordable product with a dependable market.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan said at a clean-cooking meeting on the sidelines of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, on November 12 that access had reached 28.6 percent by March 2026. The government is aiming for 35 percent by the end of this year, against a longer-term national strategy target of 80 percent by 2034.

The announcement comes days after STAMICO commissioned a Sh3.7 billion Rafiki Briquettes factory at Msembeta, Chigongwe Ward, in Dodoma City. Minerals Minister Anthony Mavunde officially inaugurated the plant on November 7, in the presence of corporation executives, parliamentary representatives and regional officials.

The plant is the corporation’s fourth such facility and has an installed capacity of 20 tonnes an hour. STAMICO managing director Venance Mwasse said the wider package of infrastructure and equipment unveiled at the event was worth Sh6.09 billion.

The investment is expected to create more than 150 direct jobs, alongside business opportunities in transport, retailing, maintenance and services around the factory. But the number of people eventually benefiting will depend on output, sales and how widely the fuel is adopted.

STAMICO has reported a network of 92 distributors, including 35 associated with the Wanawake na Samia Tanzania organisation. The expansion includes 30 three-wheeled delivery vehicles, 20 storage and distribution containers and two trucks.

Dr Mwasse said the corporation also planned another production facility in Geita, describing the proposed expansion as a way of increasing supply and bringing the product closer to customers.

Mr Mavunde connected the Dodoma investment with national cooking-energy goals. “The use of this energy is part of the mining sector’s contribution to achieving the government’s target of ensuring that 80 percent of Tanzanians use clean cooking energy by 2034,” he said at the inauguration, in remarks delivered in Kiswahili.

However, production capacity does not, by itself, show whether a household or institution will find briquettes cheaper to use than conventional charcoal, electricity or liquefied petroleum gas. A sound comparison requires prices, fuel consumption, stove efficiency and the cost of preparing a similar meal.

The government has separately acknowledged that upfront appliance costs and distribution remain obstacles. Its National Clean Cooking Strategy calls for wider access to affordable fuels, appropriate stoves and supporting infrastructure.

The health claims attached to coal-derived cooking products also warrant scrutiny. Tanzania’s strategy includes briquettes that meet regulatory standards, while World Health Organisation guidance judges cooking technologies by harmful emissions and cautions against unprocessed coal in households. No independent, product-specific emissions results were supplied with the inauguration information reviewed for this report.

STAMICO board chairman Simon Sirro has encouraged schools, prisons and other institutions to consider Rafiki Briquettes. Parliamentary Energy and Minerals Committee chairperson Subira Mgalu called for appropriate stoves to be made available, while Chamwino District Commissioner Janeth Mayanja attended on behalf of the Dodoma regional administration.

The corporation is also pursuing a broader industrial strategy. Mr Mavunde said it was planning a gold mine under its full ownership, though he did not announce a site, investment amount or timetable for development.

For Dodoma and other intended markets, the next question is less about how much the new factory can produce in an hour than how many customers it can retain, at what cost and with what measurable benefits for jobs and household cooking.

Sources: STAMICO statement (November 9, 2026); Inauguration reporting (November 7, 2026); Ministry of Energy (November 12, 2026); National Clean Cooking Strategy; WHO household air pollution guidance.