The African Development Bank’s board of directors has approved a $5m investment in the SPARK+ Africa Fund to deliver clean cooking solutions to over two million households across Africa.
The European Commission will contribute an additional €10m. The bank’s investment, which will come from its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, is expected to enable the participation of other interested investors. As an anchor investor, the bank will channel first-loss equity from SEFA and the European Commission thematic blending facility.
In addition to delivering clean cooking technologies, the investment is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 15.9 Mt of carbon dioxide equivalent, by cutting emissions from the use of inefficient stoves and open fires and forest degradation for wood fuel.
Switching to cleaner cookstoves reduces exposure to harmful cooking smoke and the time spent collecting firewood, a burden that falls disproportionately on women.
“By investing in the rollout of clean cooking solutions to millions of households, the bank is also contributing to women’s empowerment, employment creation and reduced deforestation associated with charcoal production,” said AfDB’s Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, Dr. Kevin Kariuki.
The investment complements the bank’s wider efforts to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kariuki added, “Positive health impacts from the reduction of household indoor air pollution also contributes to resilience toward diseases attacking respiratory systems such as COVID-19.”
