In an effort to support adherence to international best practices and harmonization of bioethanol fuel standards across the African continent, the Standards Alliance—a partnership between the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)—collaborated with Pivot Clean Energy Co (PIVOT) and the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) to co-host an intensive one-day webinar: Bioethanol Standardization Web-series #5: Implementation of Bioethanol Fuel and Clean Cookstoves Businesses.
The virtual capacity-building event, which took place on February 24, 2023, raised awareness of implementation processes for establishing bioethanol clean cooking businesses, business model considerations, and financing opportunities (i.e. carbon financing) for unlocking this new market segment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Discussions explored practical steps for supporting the development of emerging bioethanol-clean cooking enterprises within a country context, and tied together information from previous webinars to show the holistic potential for this market opportunity in the Sub-Saharan African economy.
Approximately 46 participants attended, including private- and public-sector individuals (i.e. national standards bodies and regulatory agencies) from various parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S. Speakers from PIVOT, Clean Cooking Alliance, Consumer’s Choice, and Spark + Africa Fund shared their perspectives on topics of interest, including:
The web event concluded with a Q&A session and an in-depth panel discussion exploring how implementing international bioethanol standards, clean cooking business models, and carbon financing can benefit health, the economy, society, and the environment within the Sub-Saharan African context. Among other outcomes, several recommendations emerged from the speakers and PIVOT on possible next steps for entrepreneurs in the clean cooking industry to build momentum, such as the introduction of ASTM E3050, Standard Specification For Denatured Ethanol For Use As Cooking And Appliance Fuel.
This webinar was the final installment in a series of similar activities that ANSI has supported through the Standards Alliance in coordination with PIVOT to further biofuel advocacy efforts and standards implementation in sub-Saharan Africa. PIVOT is a non-profit industry coalition that works to increase the global use of bioethanol for household energy, and has served as ANSI’s implementing partner for this capacity-building activity.
The workshop agenda and presentations are available on ANSI’s website.