The residential energy sector contributes close to half of anthropogenic black carbon emissions, thereby impacting human health, climate, crop production, forests, biodiversity, equity and livelihoods. Today, 2.1 billion people worldwide – nearly one third of the global population – still cook their meals over open fires or on traditional stoves, breathing in harmful smoke released from burning coal, charcoal, firewood, agricultural wastes, and animal dung. This lack of clean cooking contributes to 3.2 million premature deaths annually, with women and children most at risk.  

The incomplete combustion of these fuels emits fine particulate matter (PM2.5) with high levels of black carbon, a potent short-lived climate pollutant that contributes to climate change and degrades local air quality. Black carbon and other PM2.5 exposure contribute to acute lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, eye diseases like cataracts, and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight and stillbirth.  

Women and children often spend 3–6 hours daily near smoky stoves, facing heightened risks of respiratory illness and cooking-related injuries. Additionally, black carbon contributes to the disruption of monsoon patterns exacerbating pressure on water resources, and black carbon deposition harms African ecosystems, both exacerbating food insecurity and climate vulnerability.  

Addressing pollution from cooking has been focused on switching from inefficient polluting biomass stoves to more efficient ones, and on shifting to alternative fuels, from natural gas, liquified petroleum gas (LPG) to electric cooking (eCooking).  

Accelerating the adoption of eCooking specifically offers a major opportunity to tie in to just energy transition planning, using the renewable energy resource endowment on the African continent, generating new business opportunities to achieve progress on public health, climate action, and gender equality. Over half of people who primarily use biomass for cooking are already connected to the electricity grid but lack grid reliability, modern appliances, or means to cook with electricity.

The good news is that innovative finance models are driving real action. Rising electricity demand can also support grid expansion, with neighborhood solutions in cities—such as mini- and micro-grids—supplementing the main grid. In rural areas, the focus has been on standalone systems, which have proven financially attractive. However, challenges with maintenance and reliability must be addressed to ensure their long-term sustainability.  

Together, these developments create a strong foundation for policy reforms, targeted incentives, and capacity-building initiatives to promote eCooking, making use of existing infrastructure while supporting broader energy access.  

There is now a need to tackle the challenges in accelerating eCooking update in terms of access, affordability, infrastructure, and social and cultural acceptance. eCooking also remains underfunded – particularly across Africa. While countries in Asia are expected to reach 82% access to clean cooking by 2030 and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are expected to reach near universal access to clean cooking by 2030, much of Africa is not projected to do so and the IEA estimates more than 940 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to still lack access to clean cooking by 2030.  

  

Policy reforms, incentives, capacity-building and behavioural shifts are needed to promote eCooking using existing infrastructure, create markets for new infrastructure and value chains around appliances. While stove stacking is likely to continue, the objective is to increase the share of renewable eCooking in the overall energy mix.  

This Challenge seeks to accelerate eCooking uptake in Africa to reduce health and climate impacts, empower women and communities, and to unlock economic opportunities across the clean cooking value chain. Proposals should address at least 3 of the proposed focus areas below, while demonstrating clear health and climate impact potential. Successful proposals should emphasize measurable reductions in household air pollution, particularly black carbon emissions, and associated health impacts.  

Focus Areas  

1. Locally appropriate eCooking technologies  

Design, adapt, validate and/or produce electric cooking appliances that contribute to the local economy, and support African culinary traditions and locally preferred styles – such as multi-pot, high-heat, and communal meal preparation to ensure cultural relevance, food choice autonomy, and ease of use including backup power sources.  

2. Energy Access Planning and Infrastructure Integration  

Support energy planning to expand reliable, affordable electricity access through grid, mini-grid, or off-grid systems tailored to support daily e-cooking needs in rural, urban, or peri-urban areas.  

3. Financial Inclusion and Affordability Models  

Develop and implement innovative financing mechanisms—such as pay-as-you-go, microloans – subsidies, or carbon finance—to make eCooking accessible and affordable, particularly for women-led households and entrepreneurs.  

4. Women’s Empowerment and Behavior Change  

Advance gender equality by promoting women’s leadership and participation in the e-cooking value chain and market development, including supporting behavior change and community engagement to foster social acceptance

What we are looking for  

The CCAC Challenge Programme is looking for projects that will:  

• Validate, adapt, or accelerate implementation of super pollutant mitigation technologies or solutions  
• Validate, adapt, or accelerate implementation of super pollutant policy or regulatory approaches
• Develop or implement economic incentives or business models for super pollutant reduction  
• Build regional and global capacity for super pollutant reductions  
• Build new partnerships through consortiums of IGOs, NGOs, and local stakeholders  
• Catalyze funding and investment for super pollutants  

Application requirements

• Proposals must target activities in ODA-eligible countries in Africa (proposals outside the geographic scope will not be considered)
• Proposals must clearly respond to at least 3 of the proposed focus areas  
• Organizations applying for funding must have a presence in the beneficiary country (i.e. inclusion of local/national organizations)
• Proposals must be submitted in consortiums (i.e. at least 2 organizations applying per proposal)
• Proposals must target innovative approaches that are collaborative, scalable, and address more than one of the above-mentioned challenges
• Proposals must have a clear emissions reductions impact and proposed approach/methodology
• Proposals with co-funding or in-kind contributions are encouraged including from private sector stakeholders or other donor schemes than those of CCAC but not required
• Engagement with sub-national, private sector and other stakeholders is encouraged but not required