Renewable energy impact programs can only become sustainable when they are accompanied by a robust financial support strategy. For UNIDO’s project “Global Impact Program for clean fuels and cooking technologies in high impact countries (GIP-CC)”, a strategy was developed to increase access to finance, so that the private sector could make the investments needed to establish biofuel production and distribution for clean cooking.

Based on this initial framework, UNIDO plans to work with financial partners in establishing country-level credit guarantee facilities to stimulate private sector investments in renewable energy. To this end, a three-phase approach was adopted, with UNIDO providing technical assistance at every stage:

i. Evaluation and Feasibility Study

ii. Design Phase

iii. Implementation Phase

In the past, many finance access programs for bioenergy have remained dormant or come to an end without establishing a sustainable structure, developing institutional capacities, or achieving the desired critical mass. The failure of credit guarantee programs is usually due to faulty or inadequate product and process design, and lack of proper oversight. The design phase is therefore critical, and UNIDO would like to provide a compact guide to a fully designed mechanism that can make access to such finance programs sustainable.

Based on the completed feasibility study, the Design Phase for the bioenergy credit guarantee scheme in Tanzania was structured around producing a Design & Framework Manual, to be shared with the implementing development financial institution (in this case, TIB Development Bank), as a guide for putting in place a dedicated institutional structure, process architecture, and an IT platform to implement and maintain the credit guarantee program.

The Design & Framework Manual was completed in 2021, and this publication is an adapted version that aims to provide a toolkit for application in other countries and contexts.