AFRICA: NEFCO and CCA to finance clean cooking south of the Sahara

A partnership was recently signed between the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) and the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA). The aim is to mobilise funding to accelerate access to clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) will deploy the Modern Cooking Facility for Africa (MCFA) in partnership with the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA). This is the aim of a partnership recently signed between the two organisations. Like the Beyond the Grid for Africa (BGFA) programme in the electricity sector, the recently launched MCFA programme aims to support the introduction of clean cooking solutions in six sub-Saharan African countries.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the MCFA programme is expected to provide 3 million people with access to clean, modern and affordable cooking solutions by the end of 2027. And as part of the recently signed partnership, the CCA and Nefco will work to advance industry standards and mobilise private, carbon-based finance.

Financing via carbon credits

According to NEFCO, the partnership will focus on markets in six MCFA target countries, where there is a significant need for clean cooking solutions. “The CCA’s market research shows that demand for modern clean cooking solutions is growing, but that improvements still need to be made in the areas of affordability, helping consumers make informed choices, and putting clean cooking businesses and markets on a path to profitability so that services can be sustained long after public funders have withdrawn,” explains Dymphna van der Lans, the CCA’s Chief Executive Officer.

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The Washington-based organisation estimates that 2.4 billion people worldwide use polluting open fires and inefficient stoves for cooking, contributing to 3.2 million premature deaths and damaging livelihoods, the climate and the environment. In sub-Saharan Africa, access to clean cooking is hampered by a lack of funding.

Over the coming months, NEFCO and the CCA will be working to mobilise private finance to support the adoption of environmentally-friendly cookstoves by sub-Saharan households. The two organisations also plan to deepen knowledge management in areas linked to the promotion of modern cooking solutions. Other future actions include the mobilisation of high-integrity carbon finance as part of innovative commercial and financial models to enable companies to reduce the cost of equipment for consumers.