Deadline: 30 January 2015
The Spark Fund Round III is open for applications. The Fund invites proposals from clean cooking enterprises at the venture and growth stages that are seeking venture grant investments to scale their enterprise and strengthen organizational capacity. The Fund seeks to provide investment-like growth capital and capacity development support to help enterprises reach commercial viability, scale, and ultimately unlock additional investments for future growth
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is a public-private partnership with a mission to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment by creating a thriving global market for clean cookstoves and fuels, with the goal to enable 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cooking solutions by 2020.
The Spark Fund will award grants and capacity development services to at least 6 qualifying enterprises via two distinct application categories – Spark ‘Venture’ and Spark ‘Growth’. Spark Venture will provide selected earlier stage enterprises with up to US$300,000 each. Spark Growth will provide selected later, growth-stage enterprises with up to US$500,000 each.
Areas of Potential Support: Spark Venture
- Enhancing an existing product (fuel or stove) design or technology to improve sustained adoption by end users.
- Developing and rolling out a marketing strategy.
- Reduction of cost of goods sold by improving efficiency in production, distribution, etc.
- Developing key local sales channels and distribution model(s).
- Seeking capacity development and training in areas of the business with significant skills gaps i.e. accounting, supply chain management, inventory systems, etc.
Areas of Potential Support: Spark Growth
- Entering new markets (geographies, segments, etc.).
- Developing a new product line (fuel or stove).
- Diversifying sales and distribution channels.
- Expanding manufacturing facilities and equipment to increase efficiencies and production capacity.
- Introducing innovative financing schemes to increase product affordability and uptake.
- Seeking capacity development and training in areas of the business with significant skills gaps i.e. financial management, human resources, administrative, etc.
Eligibility Criteria
- The applicant organization must be a registered Partner of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. Applicants who are not currently a Partner must be registered prior to submitting their application.
- The applicant must operate within the clean cooking value chain. This includes, but is not limited to, organizations focused on clean cookstove and fuels manufacturing, distribution, retailing and financing.
- While there is a preference for for-profit enterprises, applicants with any organizational/legal structure are encouraged to apply provided they are commercially viable from market-based revenues. Organizations that rely heavily on grant funding or carbon revenues to sustain organizational viability will not be considered.
- The applicant must be beyond proof-of-concept and post-revenue, meaning the enterprise has generated sales. The applicant must have the capability to ramp up and scale operations.
- Applicants should have a clear and feasible plan for achieving break-even profitability within a reasonable period of time following the grant.
- The applicant must be focused on driving highly scalable impact in alignment with the Alliance’s mission to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment through the sustained adoption of clean and efficient cooking solutions.
- Applicants should demonstrate a significant commitment to having a positive impact on women and girls and should be compliant with the gender best practices.
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