To accelerate the momentum of the clean cooking revolution, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania and the European Union, inaugurated the Eastern Africa Regional Clean Cooking Energy Symposium in Arusha, Tanzania.
The event brought together industry leaders and policymakers to explore strategies for advancing clean cooking under the theme: “Linking finance, innovation, technology adoption, access, and policy.”
The three-day regional symposium convened over 200 key stakeholders, including senior government representatives from Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania, as well as development partners, SMEs, researchers, financial institutions, and civil society organizations.
The gathering underscored a shared regional commitment to addressing the critical issue of clean cooking in East Africa, where widespread use of traditional biomass fuels like wood and charcoal poses serious health risks, contributes to environmental degradation, and exacerbates climate change.
In his keynote address delivered on behalf of Hon. Dr. Dotto Mashaka Biteko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Eng. Innocent Luoga, Commissioner of Electricity and Renewable Energy, emphasized that the Clean Cooking Agenda is a top national priority for Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Pointing out that the president has taken an active leadership role in championing clean cooking across the continent, particularly through the launch of the African Women Clean Cooking Support Program.
Eng. Luoga stressed that this symposium serves as a platform for new ideas and regional collaboration on the clean cooking agenda.
The symposium aligns with Tanzania’s National Clean Cooking Strategy (2024–2034), which aims to ensure that 80% of Tanzanians adopt clean cooking solutions by 2034. This ambitious target seeks to reduce reliance on traditional cooking methods that fuel deforestation, indoor air pollution, and adverse health outcomes.
Mr. Peter Malika, UNCDF Chief Technical Advisor, highlighted the symposium’s significance, revealing that the regional symposium is a valuable platform for learning, sharing, and collaboration.
“We are highlighting opportunities in the clean cooking value chain, promoting cooperation, and advancing the adoption of clean cooking as a primary objective of a regional conference such as this one,” said Malika.
Throughout the symposium, participants engaged in discussions on blended finance mechanisms, leveraging private sector investment, setting standards and certification to ensure quality and consumer confidence, exploring carbon credit opportunities, and exchanging best practices and innovations in clean cooking technologies and market delivery approaches.
Also speaking at the symposium, Ms. Albina Minja, Operations Manager at SESCOM, a company promoting efficient electricity use from renewable sources, shared that based on research done in the country in 2018, it was concluded that cooking with electricity is cheaper.
“Since then, we’ve been creating awareness while strengthening our supply chain to ensure high-quality appliances are available in Tanzania. We are honored to be a grantee of CookFund. The program has been very useful to us as a company and to the end users,” said Minja.
The partnership between UNCDF, the Government of Tanzania, and the European Union has enabled the implementation of CookFund, a program that empowers businesses, expands market access, and makes clean cooking more accessible and affordable across communities.
Together, these collaborative efforts are paving the way for a cleaner, healthier, and more inclusive energy future, starting in Arusha and extending across the region.
