Advancing Inclusive and Sustainable eCooking Initiatives: The JustGESI team on a Learning Visit to TaTEDO SESO/SESCOM
JustGESI institutional partner TaTEDO Sustainable Energy Services Organization (TaTEDO-SESO), in collaboration with Sustainable Energy Services Company Limited (SESCOM), hosted international participants from the JustGESI programme for a high-impact learning visit at its premises in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on April 22, 2026. TaTEDO staff share their reflections from the day. This article was originally published on the TaTEDO-SESO website and is reposted here with permission.
TaTEDO – Sustainable Energy Services Organization (TaTEDO SESO), in collaboration with Sustainable Energy Services Company Limited (SESCOM), successfully hosted international participants from the JustGESI programme for a high-impact learning visit at its premises in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on April 22, 2026. Participants from institutions across the UK, Malawi, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Kenya are working on Work Package 1 of the Mainstreaming Gender Equality and Social Inclusion for a Just Energy Transition in Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania project (JustGESI), which focuses on understanding GESI barriers to eCooking access in partner countries and designing seed funding initiatives to harness the skills of women and marginalised groups to drive a Just Energy Transition.
TaTEDO-SESO serves as a local institutional partner for the JustGESI project. The visit focused on TaTEDO-SESO/SESCOM's ongoing efforts in supporting eCooking in the country and strategies to transition households from cooking with biomass fuels to electric cooking. The visit provided a unique opportunity for participants to experience firsthand Tanzania’s practical progress in accelerating access to modern, clean cooking solutions, particularly electric cooking (eCooking), through inclusive, market-based approaches.
From Policy to Practice: A Living Model of eCooking in Action
The visit was officially opened with welcome remarks from the CEO of TaTEDO SESO and the Board Chairperson of SESCOM, who emphasised the organisation’s commitment to ensuring that clean energy transitions are inclusive, equitable, and grounded in real market solutions.
Participants were introduced to SESCOM as the implementation social enterprise that translates national policies, strategies, research, and development initiatives into tangible services, products, and measurable impact for households and institutions across Tanzania.
Showcasing a Scalable Business Model for eCooking
A comprehensive presentation delivered by the SESCOM Manager, Ms Katarina Aloyce, highlighted the organisation’s journey in building a viable eCooking market in Tanzania. The session covered:
Development of a market-based eCooking business model
Distribution through women-led sales networks and community groups
Deployment of over 23,000 electric cooking appliances since 2019
Innovative financing approaches, including VICOBA/SACCOS models and on-bill financing pilots with TANESCO
Addressing socio-cultural barriers through behaviour change, demonstrations, and localized product design
The presentation also candidly addressed key challenges, including affordability, grid reliability, and supply chain constraints, while emphasising critical lessons for scaling eCooking across Africa.
Hands-On Learning: Bringing eCooking to Life
The participants observed live demonstrations of SESCOM eCooking appliances, particularly electric pressure cookers (EPCs), and learned about how SESCOM handles the distribution of these technologies. The highlight of the visit was an interactive, hands-on demonstration session in which participants engaged directly with electric cooking technologies. Participants observed and actively participated in:
Cooking a variety of local Tanzanian dishes using Electric Pressure Cookers (EPCs)
Preparing meals using air fryers, showcasing healthier and energy-efficient cooking methods
Understanding time and cost savings compared to traditional cooking fuels
Exploring after-sales services, including maintenance, spare parts, and technician support networks
Importantly, several participants had the opportunity to personally cook with an electric pressure cooker and air fryer, gaining practical insight into usability, efficiency, and adaptability to local cooking practices.
Experiencing the Impact: Food, Interaction, and Shared Learning
In a powerful demonstration of real-world application, participants enjoyed a lunch prepared entirely using electric cooking appliances. This experience reinforced the practicality and reliability of eCooking solutions in everyday settings.
The visit also included interactive question-and-answer sessions, allowing for rich exchanges on:
Gender dynamics in household energy decision-making
Strategies for scaling adoption among low-income communities
Financing models and partnerships
Opportunities for replication in other countries
The structured programme ensured a seamless flow from arrival to departure, combining technical learning with experiential engagement.
Strengthening Global Learning and Collaboration
The JustGESI learning visit underscored the importance of peer-to-peer exchange and practical exposure in advancing the just energy transition. As one participant underscored, the visit demonstrated that:
“Electric cooking is no longer a concept in Tanzania—it is a growing, scalable market driven by real businesses, real partnerships, and real impact.”
and
“TATEDO-SESO’s work is inspiring: their work is grounded in deep, contextual understanding of the communities they serve. They didn’t just start delivering eCooking technologies, they worked with the most vulnerable to understand how their needs can be met and to deliver modern, clean energy solutions.”
The experience provided valuable lessons for adapting similar approaches in other countries, particularly in integrating gender equality, social inclusion, and market-driven delivery models. The JustGESI team left TATEDO-SESO’s premises filled with enthusiasms and insights that they will translate into actions plans as they start planning and designing seed funding initiatives to support eCooking projects in their countries.
Looking Ahead: Scaling Impact Across Africa
Scaling up JustGESI across Africa involves replicating its proven, localised approach by bridging skills gaps to increase the participation of women and disadvantaged groups, fostering inclusive economic growth, using community engagement to ensure projects are relevant to local experiences, and providing seed funding for community-driven eCooking projects and identifying barriers for marginalised households. Other interventions include working with local leaders as "gender champions" to influence local decision-making and technology uptake for disadvantaged groups in rural areas. This will ensure eCooking transitions are equitable. TaTEDO SESO and SESCOM reaffirmed their commitment to:
Expanding access to affordable, reliable electric cooking solutions
Strengthening partnerships with utilities, financial institutions, and development partners
Advancing innovative financing models to overcome affordability barriers
Promoting gender-responsive approaches to energy access
Supporting regional and continental scale-up through shared learning platforms such as JUSTGESI
A Milestone in Tanzania’s Clean Cooking Journey
The successful hosting of the JUSTGESI international participants marks another important milestone in Tanzania’s leadership in clean cooking innovation.
The engagement with JustGESI project partners highlighted TaTEDO-SESO/SESCOM’s leadership in eCooking efforts and reinforced the importance of inclusive energy transitions. TaTEDO-SESO/SESCOM’s eight-year experience in eCooking aligns with JustGESI's goals of advancing gender-equitable and socially inclusive energy access. The visit supported knowledge exchange and partnership development, paving the way for scalable, sustainable solutions. Future work will focus on integrating social and gender equity into eCooking through the implementation of the flagship project for mainstreaming GESI in the eCooking interventions.
By combining policy leadership, business innovation, and practical implementation, TaTEDO SESO and SESCOM continue to demonstrate that a just and inclusive energy transition is not only verbally possible but also already underway.
