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Spark+ Technical Assistance Facility – 2019 Kenya and Ghana Window – Open for Applications

This Request for Proposals (RfP) is to solicit applications for the latest round of the Spark+ Technical Assistance Facility, formerly referred to as the Spark+ Investment Readiness Program, which will support investible companies operating in or entering Kenya and/or Ghana, with the goal that they will be ready to raise debt and/or equity capital in the next 12-18 months. Selected companies will receive assistance from 3rd party advisory services providers and/or Alliance staff. As grant funding will not be provided, we ask companies to be thoughtful about their non-financial needs.

The RfP targets businesses likely to attract investment due to scalable, differentiated, and commercial business models to deliver products that offer robust social, environmental, and economic impacts. Applicants should meet the following criteria:

  • Focus Geographies: Qualified businesses currently operating in Kenya and Ghana are strongly encouraged to apply. Although there is a preference for companies already operating in these countries, companies operating in other countries but seeking to enter the market(s) or develop commercial agreements with Kenya or Ghana-based companies are also welcome to apply.
  • Industry and Sector Focus: Applicants must operate in, or (seek to) directly support, the clean cooking value chain by producing or distributing stoves and/or associated fuel products. Devices may include biomass, LPG/biogas, ethanol, electric, or induction stoves, or solar cookers. Relevant fuels may include processed biomass such as briquettes or pellets, ethanol, LPG, electric, or biogas. We may consider applicants which enable stove or fuel uptake including those involved in fuel dispensing systems, pay-as-you-go systems, production technologies, etc. If not currently in the clean cooking value chain, applicants should present a clear narrative as to how support will lead to access/adoption of clean cooking solutions.
  • Organizational Maturity: Applicants should be beyond proof-of-concept and post-revenue, having developed a product/technology, business model, and generated sales. They should have established a full-time management team and operations and be able to clearly articulate plans for raising investment capital. Applicants are not required to be profitable but should outline a clear and feasible plan to scale and become profitable. Applicants may have already raised investment capital, but should still be justifiably in need of grant-funded donor support such that support will be sufficiently ‘additional’.
  • Commercial and Scalable: Applicants should be market-oriented and commercially viable, with unit economics which do not rely on subsidy over the long-term, unless it is clear that such subsidy will be available over the long-term. The model should be scalable and replicable with the potential to make a significant contribution to the Alliance’s goal to achieve SDG 7 which calls for universal access to clean cooking solutions by 2030.
  • Organizational Type: Spark+ has a strong preference for for-profit private sector businesses given the higher likelihood that they will be structurally and operationally setup to operate sustainably, attract investment capital, and achieve scale. Applicants with non-profit/hybrid structures should be able to articulate how their model does or will achieve these characteristics, as well as the clear need for, and potential to raise, investment capital.

Application Process & Deadlines

The application process will be open from June 13, 2019, to July 11, 2019, and applications are due by July 11, 2019, at 6:00 pm EDT by email to investment@cleancookingalliance.org. Applicants are asked to submit the following:

  1. An Executive Summary which includes an overview of the business and proposal for support. The proposal should be no longer than 6-pages; a template is provided on the RfP webpage.
  2. A Financial Overview which consists of four tabs consisting of financial and operational performance data (revenues, COGS, and operating costs), product and unit economics, and information regarding capital raised and capital needs; a template is provided on the RfP webpage.
  3. The company’s financial model in its own format.
  4. Wherever available, fundraising/investor documentation such as a pitch deck or business plan.

Applicants are asked to ensure that product descriptions and field testing results of any stove, fuel, or fuel production/delivery products are in the Clean Cooking Catalog.

Please be sure to submit the documents indicated using the templates linked below (in addition to any other documents you may find relevant) and closely follow the guidelines, including length restrictions. Only one proposal per organization may be submitted. The Alliance reserves the right to reject late or incomplete applications or those that do not follow stated guidelines.