Call for Applications: CookFund Programme Innovation Challenge (Tanzania)

The challenge targets innovations in stove and fuel technology, cooking products financing and behavioural change approaches with the potential to accelerate the acceptance and use of clean cooking solutions in Tanzania.

The CookFund provides catalytic grant funds to private enterprises to address the affordability challenges that hinders the accelerated use of clean cooking solutions in households. The clean cooking solutions supported by the programme include LPG, electric pressure cookers, bioethanol, improved charcoal stoves and briquettes. The programme is focused on five regions of mainland Tanzania, namely, Dar es Salam, Mwanza, Dodoma, Morogoro and Pwani.

Objectives

• The innovations challenge has the following objectives:
  • Discover and support new solutions in stove and fuel technology, cooking product financing and behavioral change approaches with the potential to accelerate the acceptance and use of clean cooking in Tanzania. Solutions that without the necessary support may not be introduced into the wider cooking market.
  • Create a platform that supports research and development activities in clean cooking with market relevance and growth potential.

Scope

• Targeted Groups
  • Impact oriented commercially active enterprises and companies working and/or providing clean cooking solutions to households in urban areas of five programme regions in Tanzania Mainland.
  • Innovators and suppliers of end user payment modalities for clean cooking solutions.
• Beneficiaries
  • End users of clean cooking technologies (households, institutions and businesses).
• Targeted Clean Cooking Solutions
  • Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG),
  • Natural Gas ,
  • Bioethanol,
  • Efficient Electric Cookers,
  • Briquettes and Pellets (green charcoal),
  • Energy Efficient Improved Charcoal Stoves.
• CookFund places a strong emphasis on the provision of high-quality sustainable clean cooking services that integrate the clean cooking technologies (CCT) and sustainable fuels.

Funding Categories 

• Category I: A combination of investment/working capital growth grant and of performancebased subsidy.
• Category II: The same as Category I but specifically focusing on digital innovation in reaching out more end users e.g PAYGO

Funding Information

• Total grant fund: €14 million will be utilized by UNCDF and the remaining €3 million will be used by UNIDO for bioethanol program in Dar es Salaam only
• Size of individual awards: €10,000 – €300,000

Expected Results

• Main Objective (Impact)
  • Reduce climate change impact in Tanzania by increasing the share of the population with access to sustainable cooking solutions.
• Specific Objective (Outcome)
  • Increase usage of modern and clean cooking solutions in urban areas for improved environment and inclusive wellbeing of the population.
• Outputs
  • CookFund for accelerated market roll-out of clean cooking solutions in place and operational.

What they are Looking for?

• The CookFund programme’s innovation challenge will consider innovative solutions in the following areas:
  • Technical or technological design and capabilities of cookstoves and appliances
    • The interaction between a tool (stoves and appliances) and the cooking energy (electricity, biomass, LPG etc.) can affect how long a meal is prepared, the effort required to prepare the meal and whether the cooking experience is comfortable for the individual. The programme is looking for innovative solutions in stove or appliance technology that can address existing problems in the marketplace, households and institutions and improve the cooking experience for Tanzanians.
  • Initiatives or solutions that can stimulate positive behavior change in households to move from traditional cooking methods to clean cooking solutions:
    • It is well-documented that behaviors, habits and cultural practices hold a significant pull on individual and household decisions and choices of cooking methods, fuels and technologies. The innovation challenge is open to original, locally relevant ideas and practical solutions that can shift local attitudes and behavior towards clean cooking.
  • Innovations that utilize locally available raw materials and energy sources outside of existing clean cooking solutions in the marketplace.
  • Innovative financing mechanisms that address undercapitalization of clean cooking enterprises or end-user households:
    • Availability of affordable financial products is critical to drive both widespread distribution of clean cooking solutions and repeated purchases of these solutions by individuals and households. Clean cooking enterprises struggle to access affordable financing to support their working capital needs and investment requirements hindering their ability to reach the last mile customers across the country. Likewise with consumers, high prices of clean cooking stoves and appliances, and inability to access cheap consumer credit are commonly cited barriers for households to transition to such solutions. The programme will accept innovations that bridge this finance gap and unlock new and existing pathways that ultimately serve the needs of the under/unserved population

Eligibility Criteria

• The following criteria will be used when considering the eligibility of applicants:
  • A Tanzanian resident individual or groups of individuals.
  • An enterprise or company registered and operating in Tanzania.
  • Has designed, built, piloted or launched a solution that addresses one of the four (4) areas of innovation outlined above.
  • The individual or enterprise or company is not included in the United Nations sanctions list, particularly in the fight against financing of terrorism and against attacks on international peace and security.

For more information, visit UNCDF.