How Septiya Muhandu Is Giving Agricultural Waste a Second Life Through Green Fire
Across Zambia, charcoal remains one of the most widely used sources of cooking fuel. For millions of households, it is an everyday necessity. Yet its widespread use has also contributed to one of the country’s biggest environmental challenges: deforestation. Septiya Muhandu believes the solution is not simply to ask people to stop using charcoal—it is to offer them a better option.
As the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Green Fire Innovation Limited (Green Fire Zambia), Septiya Muhandu is transforming agricultural and industrial waste into eco-friendly charcoal briquettes that provide cleaner, more sustainable fuel for homes and businesses. His work demonstrates how environmental innovation can protect natural resources while creating practical solutions that people can adopt every day.
Septiya Muhandu is rethinking what waste can become
Agricultural residues are often treated as little more than waste. Across farming communities, biomass is frequently burned, discarded or left to decompose, despite its potential to become a valuable energy resource.
Septiya Muhandu saw an opportunity hidden within this challenge.
Through Green Fire, he has developed a business that converts agricultural and industrial waste into renewable charcoal briquettes, creating products that reduce pressure on Zambia’s forests while promoting cleaner energy alternatives.
Rather than extracting more natural resources, Green Fire focuses on maximising the value of materials that already exist. The result is a business model rooted in the principles of the circular economy, where waste becomes a resource instead of a burden.
Green Fire is building a cleaner future for Zambia
Environmental sustainability and economic opportunity often go hand in hand.
By producing affordable charcoal briquettes from biomass waste, Green Fire addresses several challenges simultaneously. The company supports waste reduction, encourages renewable energy adoption and provides households and businesses with an environmentally responsible alternative to conventional charcoal.
This approach creates benefits that extend beyond environmental conservation. It also contributes to local economic activity by creating value from agricultural by-products that might otherwise go unused.
As conversations around climate resilience and clean energy continue to gain momentum across Africa, businesses like Green Fire illustrate how local innovation can contribute to broader environmental goals while responding to everyday needs.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation helped strengthen Septiya Muhandu’s entrepreneurial journey
In 2024, Septiya Muhandu was selected for the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, joining a network of entrepreneurs working to solve Africa’s most pressing challenges through business.
As part of the programme, he received US$5,000 in seed capital, business training, mentorship and access to the Foundation’s pan-African entrepreneurial ecosystem.
For Green Fire, this support provided more than financial resources. It strengthened the company’s capacity to refine its business model, develop its growth strategy and connect with entrepreneurs across the continent who are building innovative, impact-driven enterprises.
The Foundation’s investment reflects a broader belief that Africa’s transition to a greener economy will be driven not only by policy but also by entrepreneurs creating practical, scalable solutions.
Why Septiya’s work matters
The future of sustainable energy in Africa depends on businesses that make environmentally responsible choices accessible and affordable.
Septiya Muhandu is part of a new generation of entrepreneurs proving that climate innovation does not have to rely on expensive technologies or imported solutions. Sometimes, meaningful change begins by rethinking resources that communities already have.
Through Green Fire, Septiya Muhandu is helping reduce dependence on traditional charcoal while encouraging cleaner cooking practices and promoting responsible use of natural resources.
His work highlights the growing role entrepreneurs play in supporting environmental conservation, strengthening local economies and advancing Africa’s transition towards more sustainable energy systems.
For Septiya Muhandu, Green Fire is more than a renewable energy company. It represents a vision of a future where economic growth and environmental stewardship reinforce one another.
As demand increases for cleaner energy solutions across Zambia and the wider region, Green Fire aims to continue expanding its contribution to sustainable fuel production and environmental conservation.
Septiya Muhandu’s entrepreneurial journey demonstrates that some of the most effective climate solutions are built on simple but powerful ideas. By turning waste into clean cooking fuel, he is helping protect forests, create value from overlooked resources and contribute to a more sustainable future for Zambia.
Sometimes, the strongest innovations do not begin with creating something new—they begin with seeing existing resources through a different lens.
