Our Projects

JustGESI is a project focused on advancing gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in sustainable energy transitions across Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. It   addresses systemic barriers to access, particularly for eCooking technologies, by promoting equitable policies and implementing seed funding initiatives. The initiative ensures that energy transitions are inclusive, empowering marginalized communities, especially women and vulnerable groups, through both on-the-ground projects and policy influence.

JustGESI identifies Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GEI) barriers in eCooking adoption through interdisciplinary research and grassroots engagement. Operating across four countries, they uncover challenges preventing disadvantaged households and women from adopting electric cooking using the following approaches:

• Conducting critical reviews of national energy policies to identify where, how, and why the specific, diverse energy needs of marginalized communities are being overlooked,
• Investigating energy stakeholders to uncover hidden practices, unconscious discrimination, and power dynamics that prevent equitable energy service delivery,
• Moving away from technology-first models by prioritizing end-user needs, focusing on the socio-cultural, economic, and political factors that shape local cooking realities,
• Working directly with end-users, grassroots organizations, and local "gender champions" to understand the practical challenges of technology uptake in real-world contexts.

JustGESI project prioritizes women and disadvantaged groups in its inclusion efforts. The initiative focuses on dismantling systemic barriers and discrimination that prevent equitable access to the clean energy economy, with a specific emphasis on women-headed households and populations excluded from clean cooking technologies.

The SIGMA project was supported by the UKAid fund and was implemented in four countries in Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Senegal. In Tanzania, the project was undertaken by TaTEDO- SESO. The project aimed to improve our understanding of issues related to; sustainability, inclusiveness, and governance of mini-grids in general, and those in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular by developing improved evidence base and a multi-dimensional, appreciation of issues and challenges that can support better decision-making for universal electrification globally.

During this study, information related to the project objective was collected and worked out which included the analysis of the political economy of mini-grids (Case of Tanzania), examine the issues related to the financing of mini-grids in the case of Tanzania, and identify ways to overcome them and explore the governance arrangements for successful mini-grid development, including scaling-up and replication of mini-grids and organize dissemination and communication activities for the project impact.

Project activities were undertaken in different areas and with different mini-grid stakeholders. These include the mini-grid operators and owners, central and local government authorities, government agencies, equipment suppliers, development partners, and the end users of the electricity generated from the mini-grids visited.

The field data collection and interviews generated useful information to indicate the usefulness, the challenges, the opportunities, and the risks within the mini-grid sector. The findings of the study were presented in the stakeholders’ workshop to inform stakeholders about the findings of the project and seek additional inputs that enriched the research findings and further informed the follow-up analysis work, and hence the final report.

TaTEDO -SESO, in collaboration with WRI, implemented a project on Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE), which also includes a component of mainstreaming Energy Planning and Budgeting (IPB) in local and central government programs and projects.  The project started in 2024 and will wind up its activities in 2025.  The geographical areas selected for the project in Tanzania are Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Pwani, and Dodoma.  The project components aimed at investing in expanding access to energy in areas that help generate more revenue for rural communities while spurring demand for clean electricity. PURE and IPB are virtuous cycle breakers that not only boost clean electricity use but also support low-carbon economic growth, create employment opportunities for the growing young generation, and increase income for rural communities.

Productive use of renewable energy (PURE) focuses on harnessing energy to enhance economic activities in sectors such as agriculture, livestock, and fisheries. This includes applications such as water pumping, grain grinding, cooling, solar drying, processing crops, and powering tools for fishing and cooling. Facilitating access to renewable energy, it encourages the profitability and sustainability of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in rural areas.

Some value chains have been identified for productive use, including but not limited to bananas, tomatoes, dairy milk, poultry, sunflowers, mango, livestock, poultry, cereal, cassava,  poultry, and fish. The scoping study will be conducted for the selected value chains to analyze them in detail, depending on their impact on the community and people's livelihoods.  

TaTEDO is partnering with the WWF Tanzania Country Office (WWF TCO) to implement the Africa Energy Transition (AET) Program in Tanzania. This is a five-year program intended to drive a just transition from coal to renewable energy and clean cooking solutions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar. The project also addresses national policy and regulatory frameworks for a renewable energy transition and facilitates the divestment of African and Chinese financial institutions from coal-fired power plants and increasing financial flows to renewable energy, including women-led renewable energy enterprises.

The project undertook energy policy analysis to support the governments for the effective promotion of renewable energies, analysis of bottlenecks undermining renewable energy trade, development of financial models to promote trade in renewable energy by small and medium enterprises, and conducted CSOs capacity strengthening, mentoring, and dissemination of best practices of renewable energy alternatives and enterprises. TaTEDO–SESO and WWF organized a CSO capacity-building training workshop for stakeholders to support sustainable energy entrepreneurship.

The twenty-four-month country partner project was developed based on the preceding eCook interventions in Dar es Salaam and intended to widen focus of eCook to other areas in Tanzania. eCook implies cooking efficiently with electricity. The project has been implemented in urban and rural areas, covering three regions: Dar es Salaam, Dodoma and Kilimanjaro. The project aimed at promoting a thriving market for clean, modern cooking appliances and services by putting into operation business and market chains with actors in the field to pilot the delivery of electric cooking energy appliances to end-users in Tanzania. The project in new areas of Dodoma and Kilimanjaro assessed the market and cooking practices through conducting cooking dairies, choice modelling, focus group discussions, and capacity development. The project supported different actors along the market chains, promoted support services, conducted cooking practices surveys, capacity building to end-users of EPCs, performed lobbying and advocacy to influence the government for improved enabling environment and pilot delivery of more than 2000 modern cooking energy appliances and services in rural and urban settings with entrepreneurs on the market chains. This was possible through the removal of barriers along market chains and undertaking capacity building for EPC repairs and maintenance. All these activities were geared towards the development of the market for efficient modern energy cooking appliances and services in Tanzania.

East African Civil Society for Sustainable Energy and Climate Action (EASE&CA) was a three-year project (July 2019- July 2023) implemented in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda under the support of CISU. The main objective of the EASE-CA project was to increase access to sustainable energy and other climate solutions to local communities in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania with both women’s and men’s full and effective participation and leadership for improved livelihoods and reduction of poverty. This has been realized by combining Civil Society Organization (CSO) activities at local, national, and international levels in ways, where that reinforce each other. The EASE-CA project strengthened the national CSO networking and advocacy for increased targets and financing of local, sustainable, pro-poor, and gender responsive climate and energy solutions in Energy Technology Catalogue developed by EASE-CA project national development strategies and their implementation in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The project also supported networking and participation of East African CSOs for exchange of experiences and to give voice to influence the development of the international framework for climate financing, including in the UN Framework for Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC). 

The project conducted a study for assessing the entire market systems of the cooking energy appliances (Efficient Electric Pressure cookers-EPC) in order to identify, assess and understand actors, barriers, enablers and drivers to and propose effective delivery/business models for scaling up uptake of modern energy cooking appliances in urban grid based and rural mini grid based customers in Tanzania. The time scale of this project is six months (19 Aug 2018 -28 Feb 2020) The project aim was to assess and understand the entire modern cooking energy market systems in order to propose sustainable delivery/business models for scaling up uptake of modern energy cooking appliances and services in Tanzania. The project was implemented in urban and peri-urban areas of Dar es Salaam Region (Ubungo and Kinondoni Districts) and rural areas of Gairo district in Morogoro Region where PowerGen Company is currently operating a Mini-Grid electric power plant. Tanzanian eCook Book At the end, the project came up with a research report narrating the marketing of modern energy cooking appliances and an approach for designing Delivery Models of Energy Cooking Services. Other deliverables were Tanzania eCook Books (English and Swahili Versions). 

The business and market development project is a continuation of efforts to implement TaTEDO’s strategy for scaling up production and marketing of renewable and efficient energy products, practices and technologies. The objective of the project is to scale up business and market of locally produced improved cook stoves through market networks development and financing to meet basic and productive energy needs of customers in the six districts of Tanzania. The target markets for this business are households, institutions and small and micro enterprises (SMEs). The areas selection was derived by the negative impacts on natural forests caused by high demand of charcoal (Dar es Salaam) and firewood Improved cookstoves displayed in Ushoroba festival Kisarawe, (Kilimanjaro) as a result of high population densities. The project is funded by UNEP and implemented by TaTEDO in collaboration with social enterprises (SEECO) 

The project had two components, one for awareness creation and another for influencing decision-makers. This project focused on raising awareness and promotion of highly efficient clean cooking electric appliances (EPCs in particular) to stakeholders and the public to raise demand and adoption of highly efficient electric pressure cookers in different communities and the public at large, especially in areas with grid electricity but still cooking with woodfuels. The awareness component aimed to increase adoption and scale up the market of efficient and clean cooking appliances (EPC in particular) through effective and efficient public and community awareness strategies and mechanisms through different means and mass media. The awareness campaigns through mass media were implemented nationwide but demonstrations and showcases were performed in selected project areas with high potential for EPC market development. The awareness campaign component was undertaken concurrently with another component of influencing decision-making at the national level which was implemented in Dodoma and entailed undertaking advocacy actions. The aim was to provide outreach to decision-makers and policymakers or leaders on awareness of EPCs potentials compared to biomass and other fuels and drawbacks which may hinder its demand and delivery to the country's large segment of the population. The advocacy actions were conducted through respective workshops with the Members of the Parliament at the Parliament Compounds and government officials from 5 sectoral ministries and agencies in Dodoma. Demonstrations of electric cooking for different stakeholders were undertaken simultaneously during the workshops with government officials and Members of Parliament. 

The project piloted power hub prototypes developed by the CREST under the MECS program to assess their potential, barriers, performance, and immediate impacts on the population in on-grid and off-grid areas of Tanzania. The power hubs can store electricity and are sized to be able to support cooking for the whole day. A total of 40 developed power hubs being splinted into 20 AC and other 20 DC systems will be tested, piloted, and researched in Tanzania. The project is divided into two main components. These are logistics and research. The project was implemented in on-grid urban areas of Dar es Salaam. The second phase of off-grid rural areas was conducted in the Coast Region of the United Republic of Tanzania. Different models and tools, such as WhatsApp Boat, Kobo Tool, Journey Maps, Mobile Research, etc., were used to collect data from the project areas.