Energy 4 Impact has partnered with the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) program to advance access to clean and modern energy cooking in Rwanda. MECS is a five-year, UK aid-funded research program led by Loughborough University and the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). Its objective is to accelerate transitions from biomass-based fuels to cleaner cooking with modern fuels such as electricity, ethanol, and LPG. The program produces evidence that promotes the innovation needed to make modern energy cooking services more accessible, affordable, reliable, and sustainable.

In Rwanda, Energy 4 Impact shares MECS’ vision of transforming the country’s clean cooking sector through interventions informed by evidence-based market and consumer research and constructive engagements with the Rwandan government and other key stakeholders, with the goal of addressing policy and regulatory barriers and establishing a robust supply chain. Over the next two years, Energy 4 Impact aims to realize this vision through two main work streams: stakeholder management and targeted research.
Energy 4 Impact recently kicked off the review process with a well-attended stakeholder workshop. The workshop, held at the Park in Hotel in Kigali on June 16th 2021 was attended by representatives from government ministries and departments such as MININFRA and Ministry of Environment, private sector such as EPD and BRD, and other donors. The goal was to gain further insights into the state of clean and modern energy cooking in Rwanda and how that might evolve in the coming years from the perspective of policymakers, regulators, researchers, development partners, and the private sector. The discussion focused on the challenges, opportunities, and initiatives needed to support the clean cooking sector in Rwanda, with an emphasis on modern cooking fuels and technologies. The discussion also touched upon a critical aspect of Energy 4 Impact’s in-country partnership with MECS in Rwanda: the need to build robust evidence that cooking with modern energy fuels and technologies, such as pressure cookers, can be compatible with Rwandan cuisine and cooking practices. Energy 4 Impact will meet that requirement as part of its agreed-upon research workstream by carrying out a pilot study with 25 selected households in Kigali to understand how people cook, their existing expenditures on cooking fuels, their cooking practices, their energy consumption, and how e-cooking compares with other cooking methods and practices.

Stakeholder feedback after the workshop showed that it provided a useful opportunity for relevant players in the clean cooking sector to deepen their understanding of each other’s requirements, and it also provided illuminating insights into how modern energy cooking services can be incorporated into energy policies and planning in Rwanda.