Local and international NGOs involved in the stove sector have become an important channel for the dissemination of information and the provision of free technical support The development of local NGOs is an important element of stove dissemination in Kenya and has been a central component of efforts to engineer wide-scale use of energy-efficient stoves in the country and in the region.

While the role of local NGOs is generally welcomed by the stove industry, there have been instances when local NGOs contemplated initiating the production of the improved stoves. This has, in fact, become reality in the case of institutional stoves where an NGO, Bellerive Foundation, is actively involved in production and marketing of stoves for rural schools and hospitals. Because of its tax-free status, access to external finance and technical support, the activities of the Foundation have hampered the growth of an indigenous institutional stove industry. Bellerive Foundation is now reviewing its strategy and is seriously considering limiting its activities to training and information dissemination.

The above fate has not befallen the household stove industry largely because of the rather unattractive profit margins and loud and insistent complaints from the highly aggressive local community of stove producers and distributors.