Terms of Reference: Evaluation of the MECS Trust Fund in Uganda

Background

The Government of Uganda (GoU), through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD), in partnership with MECS Programme, is implementing the eCooking Scale-up and Support Programme to accelerate the transition to clean, modern cooking solutions in Uganda. The programme seeks to increase the adoption of electric cooking (eCooking) technologies as a key pathway towards achieving Uganda’s clean cooking, energy access and climate objectives, while reducing reliance on traditional biomass fuels.

Supporting this transition requires a robust and competitive private sector supply chain capable of importing, assembling, distributing and providing after-sales support for high-quality appliances that meet national technical, safety and energy efficiency standards. Equally important is access to affordable finance for both suppliers and consumers to overcome market barriers and enable businesses to scale their operations.

To address these challenges, MECS and MEMD established the MECS Trust Fund, a market development financing mechanism designed to support the importation and market expansion of approved eCooking appliances in Uganda. As the Trust Fund completes its first year of implementation, we seek to commission an independent evaluation specialist to assess the Fund’s performance, effectiveness and efficiency. The findings will provide evidence to inform future improvements in the design, implementation and potential scale-up of the Trust Fund and similar market-based financing mechanisms.

The research is expected to commence no later than 1^st October 2026. All deliverables must be completed and delivered by 31^st January 2027.

Professional Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in programme or project evaluation, monitoring and evaluation, development finance or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience conducting at least one (1) independent evaluation of development programmes, financing facilities, private sector development initiatives or donor-funded projects.
• Experience evaluating programmes financed by development partners, international financial institutions or government agencies.
• Experience in designing and implementing mixed-method evaluations, including document review, stakeholder interviews, surveys and data analysis.

Important information

• This opportunity is only open to individuals, not consortiums or partnerships.
• Any person already connected to the eCooking Scale up and Support Programme, in any capacity (either as an awardee or working for an organisation that has benefited from the programme) is not eligible to apply. 
• Responses should be a maximum of 6 pages (plus 1 CV of 2 pages). 
• Responses should be submitted in Word (do not submit Powerpoint/Prezi or PDF)

• Please send all responses to mecs@lboro.ac.uk with the subject ‘UGANDA TRUST FUND EVALUATION‘.

• All proposals must be received by 18th August 2026 at 23:55 (British Summer Time).

• The time will be determined using the time of arrival in the MECS inbox. Any offers received after 23:55 will be rejected.