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Tanzania eCooking Scale and Support Programme: Celebrating Progress, Shaping the Future

Date
7th August 2026
Categories
electric cooking, Event

Hosted at the Residence of the British High Commissioner in Dar es Salaam, on 6th August, this event brought together key stakeholders to celebrate achievements of Phase 1 of the eCooking Scale and Support Programme and showcase activities planned for the next phase.

Following a welcome from H.E. Marianne Young, the British High Commissioner to Tanzania, guests were introduced to a video highlighting the impact and achievements of the UK funded eCooking Scale and Support Programme in Tanzania.

Watch MECS Overview video:

Attendees heard from Nolasco Mlay, the Director of Clean Cooking at the Ministry of Energy, who highlighted the success achieved through the MECS electric cooking initiative, implemented in partnership with the UK government in Tanzania. Nolasco Mlay’s speech was followed by a series of videos, and remarks by speakers from WFP, TANESCO and FixChap, indicating the real-world impact of eCooking Scale and Support Programme.

Figure 1: Celebrating achievements of Tanzania eCooking Scale and Support Programme in numbers and key partners.

It was also a great opportunity to introduce Phase 2 of the eCooking Scale and Support Programme, which has recently commenced and will finish in early 2027. Phase 2 builds on the successes of Phase 1, continuing some existing partnerships, starting new ones, and expanding into new subject areas: 

  • CRDB Bank Foundation will set up a School Trust Fund to enable interested schools to access finance to transition to eCooking – a fund which can be added to by other funders looking to Support Tanzania in their ambitions to accelerate schools to modern cooking.   
  • FixChap will continue to build out the repair and maintenance ecosystem, focusing on public Repair Clinics, women-run Service Centres, the supply chain of quality spare parts, and training more fundis.
  • TANESCO are tackling the technical challenge of exploring how their smart meters could detect eCooking, helping them plan and operate the electricity network more effectively.
  • THT Innovation will deliver 6 months of roadshows, taking Pika Smart to 7 new regions to encourage behaviour change.
  • The Benjamin Mkapa Foundation will integrate clean cooking and indoor air pollution information into their training programme for Community Health Workers, who will then deliver this knowledge to the households they visit. 
  • Out to tender, is a pilot to manufacture local cooking appliances to reduce reliance on imports and increase job opportunities. Closing date is Wednesday 26th August 2026.

The formal event concluded with closing remarks from Catherine Pye, Head of Climate Change, Environment & Nature in the Sustainable Prosperity Team at the BHC Tanzania. She acknowledged the dedication of all partners and celebrated the programme’s achievements to date. She also outlined ambitions for its future and called on additional funders to support the expansion of this work across Tanzania.

Figure 2: Catherine Pye, Head of Climate Change, Environment & Nature, BHC, Tanzania. Copyright of MECS Programme.

Guests then had the opportunity to continue discussions during a networking exhibition, where suppliers from Positive Cooker, SESCOM, UpEnergy and Smart Pika displayed their technologies encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing across the sector.

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Featured Image: H.E. Marianne Young, the British High Commissioner to Tanzania .Copyright MECS Programme.