The European Union (EU) has disbursed a grant of $1.4 to Tanzania for cleaner cooking in the region.

• The EU has granted a total of $1.4 million to Tanzania to help provide cleaner cooking options.
• This fund was disbursed to 6 energy businesses in the country.
• The program guarantees access to affordable clean energy to local citizens.

6 energy businesses in Tanzania have received grants totaling €1.3 million (Sh3.2 billion) from a program supported by the European Union to help them give clean cooking options to both urban and rural inhabitants.

Following their application for funding in September of last year, the businesses were chosen as part of the EU-funded CookFund Program, which focuses on clean cooking technologies, primarily liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), electric pressure cookers (EPC), improved charcoal stoves (ICS), briquettes, and bioethanol.

The Minister for Energy January Makamba, alongside the EU ambassador Manfredo Fanti and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) head Peter Malika, presented the cheque to the program’s beneficiaries.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Makamba advised the award recipients to make sure they use the funds granted to them per the program’s goals to help more Tanzanians.

“It is good to know that this is not a loan but a grant that you get directly in the name of our country. So, make sure the end beneficiaries really get the intended benefits by delivering your energy products at a reasonably cheaper price so that they can get rid of the use of dirty energy,” the energy minister stated.

He also went ahead to reiterate the fact that the program guarantees access to affordable clean energy to local citizens.

In response to the initiative, the EU ambassador to Tanzania Mr. Manfredo Fanti asked that the businesses show that they could obtain financial support and sell their clean cooking equipment to many more new customers at a reduced price.

Mr. Manfredo stated; “the EU expects these grants to help consumers to access cheaper clean cooking systems and to encourage more people to abandon cooking techniques that are polluting and harmful to the environment.”

He also went ahead to add: “We hope to witness a multiplier effect in the future with less and less families using firewood or charcoal for cooking, allowing them to have a healthier life, free from smoke.”

The CookFund is a three-year program supported by the European Union (EU) that aims to help Tanzania meet its commitment to combating climate change by boosting the population’s access to sustainable cooking options.