Project M233

Empowerment

Promoting the independence of retailers

Context

More than 90 per cent of Madagascar’s population still cooks using wood or charcoal. This leads to massive deforestation, high CO₂ emissions and health problems caused by indoor smoke. The sale of ADES stoves not only provides resellers with an income, but also helps to protect the climate and public health. However, many resellers themselves live in precarious circumstances and require targeted support to run their businesses successfully.

Executive Summary

Project M233 – Empowerment: Helping Resellers Become Self-Sufficient strengthens ADES’s nationwide distribution network in Madagascar and specifically promotes the economic self-sufficiency of resellers, particularly women.

The income impact is complemented by measurably enhanced entrepreneurial, commercial and digital skills. Key levers for impact include a fair margin policy, structured training and further education, the gradual digitalisation of sales, and targeted measures to boost visibility and motivation within the reseller network.

The project is being implemented across all 24 regions of Madagascar and combines economic empowerment with climate and health protection through the widespread distribution of clean cooking solutions. Impact is continuously recorded and actively managed via ADES’s monitoring system.

Outcomes

The M233 project strengthens the economic independence of resellers across Madagascar – particularly women. Fair margins, training, and long-term support generate stable additional income and new economic prospects.

Many resellers invest their earnings in small businesses, agriculture, education, or the expansion of their sales activities. This sustainably improves the financial resilience of entire households.

At the same time, the project contributes to the nationwide dissemination of clean cooking solutions and combines local income generation with climate, health, and forest conservation.

Timeline

The project is proposed for the period January 2026 to December 2028 and forms part of a long-term commitment running until 2030.

Support ADES

Launch

2012

Pilot-Project

Reseller network established;

informal structures and limited support.

Milestone 1

2021

Integration

Empowerment becomes a strategic core programme for ADES

Milestone 2

2026-2028

Consolidation

Recruitment: 15–20 new resellers annually, with a focus on remote regions (≥ 60 per cent women)

Scaling

2030

Outlook

Target: 160,000 cookstoves per year,

reaching communities across Madagascar

Project M233

Voices from the Project

“Since I started selling ADES products, my standard of living has improved significantly. I have grown in my role. I sell around 45 OLIs per month. Thanks to the extra income, after saving for a while I was able to buy a motorbike.”

Madame Laurena (Tsaramandroso, Boeny Region)