Efficiency for Access’ new €150,000 Covid-19 response and recovery project will grant funding for off-grid appliance companies and help beneficiaries build resilience to shocks such as Covid-19.
This fund is supported by GET.invest, a European programme which aims to mobilise investment in decentralised renewable energy, supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria.
High-performing appliance companies, including those being supported by the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund, are facing continued capacity constraints from the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, companies are still experiencing a reduction in sales and cash flow, supply chain disruptions, product development and field testing delays. What’s more, smaller, locally owned companies at an earlier stage of development are less well-equipped to weather these challenges.
To help address this issue, this Efficiency for Access and GET.invest project aims to build the resilience of up to four Efficiency for Access Research and Development awardees in several ways, including:
- Helping to strengthen their operation capacity and job retention.
- Enabling them to maximise the potential of immediate and future opportunities.
- Building resilience to future external shocks, such as pandemics.
Within this, it looks to support the development of appliances and technologies that could positively impact health. In addition to this, the project aims to publish publicly available guidance for off-grid refrigeration companies regarding whether they can reduce importation and taxation costs or improve supply chain resilience through local assembly or manufacturing.
We will deliver this project in our capacity as co-secretariat of the Efficiency for Access Coalition.
