In Uganda, forests are disappearing at an alarming rate. One of the biggest drivers? A reliance on firewood and charcoal for everyday cooking and heating. As trees fall, the ripple effects grow: accelerated climate change, worsening air quality, public health issues, habitat destruction, and rising fuel costs that push more families into poverty.
But amidst this urgent crisis, one entrepreneur, Alex Tumukunde, is turning waste into a powerful solution. He is the founder of Bio Innovations, a company that transforms agricultural waste such as peanut shells, sawdust, and coffee husks into clean-burning biomass briquettes. These low-smoke, high-efficiency briquettes offer a sustainable alternative to firewood and charcoal, helping reduce deforestation while creating new opportunities for economic growth.
Tumukunde never planned on starting his own company. He saw himself more as an environmental activist. But while working on a Ugandan gorilla conservation project, he witnessed the devastating effects of deforestation, and knew he needed to act.
In 2016, he joined The DO School’s Entrepreneurship for Good program with a mission, but no formal business experience.
“At The DO, I was able to create a business plan, I benefited from having a mentor and by the time I was done, I had a first investor in my business,” Tumukunde said.
Today, Bio Innovations provides briquettes to local schools, hospitals, and factories. And the company’s impact goes beyond addressing the root cause of deforestation and air pollution.
The briquette production process has created local jobs, especially for women and youth, who are most affected by energy poverty. In many Ugandan households, cooking is still a woman’s responsibility, and girls often walk hours to collect firewood. By offering a cleaner, more efficient alternative, Bio Innovations is helping reduce that burden and creating new opportunities in the process. The company currently employs over 30 people, and hopes to grow that number to 100 in the next few years.
Tumukunde’s team is also intent on innovating – developing new solutions for energy-intensive poultry farms, for example. And amid the pressures of scaling a business, Tumukunde can still tap into the joy and purpose he’s found in his entrepreneurial journey.
“Meeting my customers makes me happy,” he says. “I picture how many trees we’ve saved because they’ve switched from firewood to our briquettes.”
