Over 2 billion people worldwide still rely primarily on polluting solid fuels for cooking. These households often have intermittent incomes and purchase firewood or charcoal day-to-day. In many low and middle income countries, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is the main feasible clean fuel, but requires larger lump sum payments to refill or exchange cylinders. Even when LPG’s total cost matches biomass fuels, liquidity constraints can prevent households from switching. GasPay addresses this barrier—a phone-based digital financial service platform connecting users with LPG suppliers while providing a designated savings vehicle for refills. We describe the platform’s design, the motivation behind it, and estimate its potential impact on charcoal demand, LPG use, and carbon emissions. Our results reveal how digital financial services can unlock clean energy access and advance multiple development goals simultaneously.
Authors: Gill-Wiehl, Annelise; Jack, B. Kelsey; Appiah, Alex; Aryee, Bernard; Awuni, Sule; Harned, Erin; Kubi, Benjamin; Lahr, Heather G.; Labi, Emmanuel; Mujtaba, Mohammed; Takyi-Appiah, Andrew; White, Lewis; Jack, Darby; and Asante, Kwaku Poku
Type: Working Paper
Year: 2026
