National Convening on Blended Finance to Unlock Investments in Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE)

A Joint Initiative by TaTEDO-SESO and the World Resources Institute (WRI)
20 November 2025 | White Sand Hotel, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Introduction

Integrating clean and modern energy solutions into Tanzania’s agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors presents a transformative opportunity for smallholder farmers and rural enterprises. Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) technologies, such as solar water pumps, solar driers, grain mills, electric and solar heating systems, and cold storage, play a crucial role in improving productivity, enhancing value addition, reducing post-harvest losses, and lowering production costs.

To advance these  objectives, TaTEDO-Sustainable Energy Services Organisation (TaTEDO-SESO), in collaboration with  the  World Resources Institute (WRI), convened a national dialogue on Blended Finance to Unlock Investments and Build Strategic Partnerships for Enterprise Finance in the PURE Sector.  . The event brought together key stakeholders from Government Ministries, financial institutions, development partners, private-sector firms, renewable energy technology providers, and farmer cooperatives to explore practical pathways for mobilizing finance and accelerating clean energy uptake across Tanzania’s agri-food system.

Understanding Blended Finance

Blended finance involves the strategic use of concessional, philanthropic, or public capital to leverage commercial investment for projects that deliver positive environmental, social, and economic impact. By reducing perceived risks and improving the bankability of projects, blended finance:

• Makes PURE investments more attractive to commercial lenders and investors.
• Enables end-users to access lower-cost or patient financing.
• Catalyses additional capital from climate funds, green finance facilities, carbon credits, and results-based financing (RBF) mechanisms.

For Tanzania, blended finance represents different sources of finance, such as development funds, commercial capital, and local government credits, for making investments more viable and attractive, scaling PURE technologies and strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries value chains.

Highlights of the National PURE Blended Finance Event

The national convening event was held on 20 November 2025 at the White Sand Hotel in Dar es Salaam, the convening was themed:

“From Potential to Scale: Unlocking Blended Finance for Clean Energy Investments in Tanzania’s Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Sectors.”

The event focused on practical strategies to mobilize blended capital to de-risk PURE investments, improve bankability, and accelerate progress toward national development priorities and SDG7.

Opening Session

The convening began with:

• Welcome Remarks by Eng. E. N. Sawe (Chief Executive Officer- TaTEDO-SESO )
• Keynote Address by Mr. Anderson Ngowa (Finance Associate, Energy Access-World Resources Institute)

Both speakers emphasized the growing demand for productive energy services, the need for coordinated investment, and the importance of innovative financing partnerships to drive adoption of PURE solutions nationwide.

Presentation 1: High-Impact PURE Investment Opportunities

The first technical paper highlighted results from a comprehensive value chain assessment of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries of PURE investment opportunities  conducted in Dodoma, Dar es Salaam, Pwani, and Kilimanjaro regions.

Key outcomes included:

• Identification of 20 high-impact PURE investment opportunities across agriculture, livestock, and fisheries value chains.
• Development of a national Investment Prospectus to guide financiers and investors.
• Emphasis on technologies with strong income-generation potential, including solar-powered irrigation, agro-processing, cold storage, drying technologies, and eco-friendly milling systems.

Presentation 2: Geospatial PURE Data Integration through Energy Access Explorer (EAE)

The second presentation demonstrated how PURE project data were integrated into the WRI’s Energy Access Explorer (EAE) platform.

The process involved:

• Conducting structured requirements analysis and harmonizing multi-source datasets.
• Standardizing coordinate systems and spatial resolutions.
• Automating data processing steps, including boundary clipping down to ward level.

The integration enables visual mapping of PURE opportunities, helping investors, planners, and policymakers identify high-potential areas with energy access gaps or demand for energy-enabled services.

Panel Discussions

Three panel sessions explored practical financing strategies and enterprise-level experiences:

Panel 1: Catalytic Blended Finance Mechanisms for PURE

Panel 2: Unlocking Consumer Finance (Partnerships with Banks, MFIs, and SACCOs)

Panel 3: PURE Enterprises’ Experiences with Accessing Finance

The Investment Prospectus for Tanzania on High-Impact Investment Opportunities for PURE in Tanzania was officially launched during the undertaking of this event. 

Across all sessions, several issues and opportunities were highlighted:

Key Challenges Identified

• Stringent collateral requirements, high interest rates, and complex loan procedures.
• Limited awareness among SMEs, cooperatives, and women economic groups about available climate and energy financing windows.
• Inadequate technical assistance for project development and business structuring.

Emerging Opportunities

• Seed financing windows such as Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) (USD 50,000–400,000) and climate finance instruments in CRDB, UNIDO, and other partners.
• Use of LGA 10% development funds to support energy-enabled enterprises at the district level.
• Strong appetite for more multi-stakeholder engagement, targeted matchmaking events, and capacity-building sessions for SMEs and financiers.

The discussions underscored the urgent need to strengthen linkages between financiers, SMEs, technology providers, and local governments to scale PURE solutions.

Closing Session

The event concluded with remarks from TaTEDO-SESO and WRI, followed by an official closing address by Eng. Collins Lwanga from the Ministry of Energy. Eng Lwanga emphasized:

• The strategic importance of renewable energy in boosting agricultural productivity and food security.
• The government’s commitment to fostering partnerships that expand PURE investments.
• The need for continued engagement to strengthen Tanzania’s transition toward sustainable and resilient energy systems.

Conclusion

The National Convening on Blended Finance for PURE investments successfully established a shared platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and strategic engagement. It reinforced the central role of blended finance in unlocking capital for energy-enabled agricultural transformation and laid the groundwork for scaling up high-impact PURE technologies across Tanzania.

TaTEDO-SESO and WRI reaffirm their commitment to working with Government Ministries, financial institutions, technology providers, and community enterprises to accelerate the adoption of modern energy solutions in agriculture, livestock, and fisheries and to drive inclusive, sustainable, and climate-resilient growth.

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