The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) (www.ITFC-IDB.org), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, signed a multilateral financing and implementation agreement to support the Forward7 initiative in Nigeria. The agreement brings together ITFC, the Trade Development Fund (TDFD) (Managed by ITFC), the Oil Sustainability Program (OSP), and BURN Manufacturing, and was signed at the Ministry of Energy headquarters in Riyadh. The initiative aims to manufacture and distribute 20,000 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cooking kits to low-income households in Nigeria. Each kit comprises a gas cylinder, stove, and essential accessories, alongside training to ensure safe and sustainable use.

The signing ceremony was held in the presence of HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and H.E Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Group. The agreement was signed by Eng. Adeeb Y. Al-Aama, CEO of ITFC and Chairman of the Executive Committee of TDFD, Eng. Mohammed bin Haitham Al-Tayyar, representative of the Forward7 initiative, and Mr. Lev Herrom, Chief Financial Officer of BURN Manufacturing.

Additionally, a separate commitment agreement was signed between Eng. Abdulrahman Bin Sulaiman, CEO of GASCO, and Eng. Adeeb Y. Al-Aama in his capacity as Chairman of the Executive Committee of TDFD. Under this agreement, TDFD will be responsible for receiving and managing allocated funds from all partners and disbursing them to the executing entity.

This project is a direct translation of the Kingdom’s commitment to the Middle East Green Initiative launched in 2021, and marks the first official project under the Forward7 umbrella, which seeks to expand access to clean cooking solutions across the Least Developed Countries. The collaboration also builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed between OSP and ITFC during the 2024 Annual Meetings of the IsDB Group, reaffirming the partners’ joint commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7—ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

Notably, the project includes direct support for household LPG refills over a period of eight years, funded through anticipated revenues from carbon credits generated by the clean cooking kits. Through collaborative efforts, the partners successfully reduced the cost of each kit by 63%, significantly improving affordability and access for target communities.

This partnership presents an innovative development model that combines grant-based funding, carbon credit mechanisms, and public-private collaboration. It also demonstrates the capacity of multilateral institutions to develop scalable, sustainable solutions. The initiative serves as a model that can be replicated across other OIC member states, transforming clean cooking access from an aspirational goal into a tangible development outcome.