Central America Clean Cooking Initiative (CACCI)

The development objective of the Central America Clean Cooking Initiative is to help scaling up clean cooking solutions in countries such as Guatemala,Honduras,Nicaragua and possibly El Salvador. Activities to be financed by the Grant includes: Development of a 2030 universal clean cooking access roadmap. The roadmap will build on the regional sustainable energy strategy 2020. It will include intermediate,achievable targets to set the region on a credible path to universal access to clean cooking in 2030,measured by a near-term,update-able investment prospectus owned by SICA and its member countries. Support selected analytical work and technical assistance identified in the investment prospectus. The scope of this activity may include improvement of policy and regulatory framework,promoting private sector participation,awareness raising campaigns,development of monitoring and evaluation systems. Research and development with knowledge sharing. Based on the identified capacity requirements and knowledge gaps as identified by the ESMAP financed regional study,the initiative will support various activities,including research and development to improve the design of cookstoves to enhance the performance,data gathering,and facilitation of South-South exchanges. Development of country-specific producer/distributor/consumer financing products. Financing was identified as one of the main barriers for the scaling up of clean cooking solutions in Central America. Producers and distributors have difficulty accessing capital to start or grow their business,and without access to financing,achieving economies of scale for imports is challenging. The lack of working capital is a major constraint in running their business. Consumers also find it difficult to afford clean cookstoves. In collaboration with IFC,local banking institutions,and microfinance institutions,country-specific products will be developed to facilitate producer/distributor and consumer financing. Coordination and partnership development. The regional program will provide a platform to align the resources and similar initiatives to the common goal of universal access to clean cooking for Central America. It will mobilize new partners from both the public and private sector for technical and financial support to its universal access agenda.