Proposal Submission Deadline: 16 April 2025 23:59 UTC
Applications are now open for Proposals for the ZE-Gen Project:
Design of Demand Generation Activities to tackle market barriers to the adoption of clean renewable alternatives to fossil fuel generators (FFGs)
All applications are expected to demonstrate how their approach will lead to tangible (measurable) results in an increased uptake of renewable generators and the displacement of FFGs across sub-Saharan Africa – *specifically Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia.
Due to the breadth of skills and experience required to meet the eligibility and scope for the Project, bidders may decide to build a consortium to successfully meet the objectives of the Project. Organisations that apply are expected to include experience working in or supporting the distributed renewable energy sector, extensive local market and sector knowledge and an established network in the target countries.
They will ideally have experience in successfully creating a demand-generation and awareness campaign in this or another sector.
All Proposals should be submitted to ze-gen@carbontrust.com by April 16 2025 23:59 UTC.
*Please note: The geographic area targeted by this project has been revised and no longer includes Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Only projects that cover Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia are now eligible.
Background
ZE-Gen has a mission to advance renewable energy-based alternatives in countries currently dependent on fossil fuel generators (FFGs). Launched in 2022 at COP27, ZE-Gen is a collaborative, cross-sector initiative to tackle barriers, accelerate innovation and fund activities to build a thriving, competitive market for renewable energy-based alternatives to Fossil Fuel Generators.
ZE-Gen is a collaborative initiative led by the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK, with support from the IKEA Foundation and UK aid through the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund via Transforming Energy Access (TEA) Platform.
Overview
The ZE-Gen Demand Generation Project aims to drive both an understanding of the positive benefits of micro and mini renewable energy-based generators as an energy source and drive a measurable uptake of these solutions to displace the use of fossil fuel generators in sub-Saharan Africa.
Phase 1 (Design) aims to support 3-5 successful applicants for a 4-month contract with the opportunity to be selected for follow-on funding to implement and scale their campaign design in Phase 2 (Pilot Implementation) and Phase 3 (Scale Up Campaign).
The Carbon Trust requires the bidder to present its approach to designing an awareness raising and demand generation campaign which increases customers’ willingness and understanding of their ability to access and adopt cleaner alternatives, such as solar-powered generators or behind the meter battery back-ups. This will be done by by raising awareness of technology options and enabling greater customer choice, leading to increased sales of alternative technologies and the displacement of FFGs to support improved economic, health and climate outcomes.
Phase 1 (Design) – July and October 2025
It is expected that between July and October 2025, 3-5 participants selected for Phase 1 will each be funded between £40k-£60k to design their proposed project.
Phase 1 includes carrying out comprehensive market research to understand and report on the available products, energy consumption patterns, the customer base, key stakeholders, the target audience demographics, and evidence and design the best way to engage with them.
Specific Deliverables in Phase 1 (Design) include:
- Market Analysis Report
- Awareness Raising and Demand Generation Campaign Strategy Document & Engagement Plan
- Monitoring & Evaluation Strategy
The follow-on implementation phase (Phase 2) is currently expected to start in November 2025, subject to market assessment and successful Phase 1 projects will be eligible to apply for follow-on ZE-Gen funding.
Project Context:
Increasing fuel costs, noise, and pollution are drivers for customers to move away from FFGs, but overall, the adoption of renewable energy solutions remains limited despite the significant benefits they offer at both local and national scales. This is due in part to low customer willingness and ability to access and adopt renewable energy-based alternatives. Factors contributing to the low adoption of alternative generators include:
- Mistrust due to a lack of awareness of alternatives
- Limited knowledge of the long-term financial case and available financing options for alternatives, which size alternative system to purchase, or the negative impact of non-efficient gensets.
- Customer ‘advocacy’ for gensets as customers value the advice and second-hand gensets from neighbours and trusted peers.
To address these issues the awareness raising, and demand generation campaign should:
- Make emphasis on FFGs displacement for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), residential, healthcare, humanitarian settings, as well as commercial and agricultural use cases, focus on ZE-Gen’s target countries
- Be integrated with existing in-country initiatives
- Leverage local traditions and key stakeholders to maximise impact and foster collaboration with local partners.
The proposal should specify and justify the approach chosen to design the awareness raising and demand generation activities. The approach will depend on location, customers’ purchasing behaviours and traditions and the links to the wider ecosystem.
Hypothetical approaches could comprise:
- Customer awareness campaign: A campaign designed to support specific in-country regions and customer bases e.g. a demonstrator or roadshow approach.
- Government / stakeholder partnership: A proposal aimed at developing partnerships with government, cooperatives, financial institutions, etc. to support them to influence customers’ decisions.
- Marketing grants for product suppliers: A project aimed to provide grant funding to product suppliers to support them to engage with customers, potentially in exchange for customer research data.
- Material / toolkit creation for customers: Develop a tool (e.g. app) or learning material, to help see financial benefits, size products, and choose appliances.
- Behavioural change campaign: A behavioural economics led approach focusing on piloting small, targeted interventions with subsequent scale up.
Please note these are only guiding examples, applicants are welcome to propose the approach they see fit based on their own experiences, market research findings and understanding of the issue, the sector and the location.
Review Criteria
View the Review Criteria
| Criterion | Information required from Bidders | Weighting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Market understanding, local networks, and sector knowledge | Bidders must explain why they believe their chosen market is suitable for awareness raising activities for generator replacement. Bidders are expected to highlight their understanding of local customs and traditions of the chosen location, highlighting how the local environment and social practices will be embedded in the project. A close working relationship with key stakeholders such as solar generators distributors, government officials, civil society, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), research institutions, innovators, trade bodies, end users are seen as relevant to the success of this Project. Please supply ideas of how these groups can be engaged and leveraged. | 35% |
| 2 | Approach to work | In the Main Bid Document, Bidders are required to provide a clear and detailed description of how they plan to deliver the work for this Project. The description should include an initial overview of the approach followed by a description on how each Work Package and task will be delivered. Also, Bidders need to justify how their proposed approach meets the objectives of the Project. If there is any Additional Work proposed by the Bidder, these aspects will be evaluated separately. The suggestion of Additional Work by the Bidder will not have a negative impact on the evaluation of the tender. Bidders are required to describe how they will manage the Project utilising appropriate resources and describe how they will work with the various stakeholders. | 35% |
| 3 | Experience | In the Main Bid Document, Bidders should elaborate on experience of the criteria described and explain how these past experiences are relevant for this tender. Bidders are expected to highlight their knowledge and experience in the energy sector. In addition, Bidders should provide at least two examples (with reference to specific roles, responsibilities and activities the Bidder undertook) of previous work which illustrates the Bidder’s skills, capabilities, and experience in all of these areas (Bidders may wish to make reference to submitted examples of previous work for other clients). Applicants are expected to demonstrate their experience working in or supporting the distributed renewable energy sector, their extensive local market and sector knowledge and their established network in countries across Sub-Sahara Africa. Bidders are advised that experience is considered a key important criterion and partnerships with other companies to support certain areas of experience are welcomed. | 15% |
| 4 | Staff skills | Bidders are required to provide biographies for any key personnel who will be involved with this Project together with proposed Project structure, intended position of the key personnel in the Project, and main responsibilities. CVs should include professional membership of the proposed staff working on this Project. Bidders should elaborate on the most relevant skills of the key personnel that will be involved in the Project and include examples of similar work performed by the proposed staff members, explaining how is relevant to the Approach to Work | 10% |
| 5 | Price | Bidders are expected to highlight value for money in their bid, by demonstrating the impact of their proposal, a strong understanding of the sector, ability to leverage existing connections to create new ones and awareness of possible risks, specifying ways to mitigate them. Bidders will be required to confirm or comment on their ability to carry out the activities detailed in the Scope of Work within the initial term of the Contract and provide an outline plan of work. In the Bid Price Calculation Sheet, Bidders are required to provide day rates for all staff grades and to input the man-h involved in each Work Package as specified in the scope of services document. In the Bid Price Calculation Sheet, Bidders are required to provide a cost breakdown by Work Package, including man hours and day rates of personnel completing the work. Bidders are required to specify expected expenses separate from the estimated budget for each Work Package. The Bid Price will be assessed on the value for money price for the Approach to Work (which includes the price of the Work Packages in the Scope of Work and any Alternative Work proposed by the Bidder). If there is any Additional Work proposed by the Bidder, this will be evaluated separately. The suggestion of Additional Work by the Bidder will not have a negative impact on the evaluation of the tender. | 5% |
For this open call for proposals, additional support is available to a select number of local applicants to develop and submit their proposals, via the Transforming Energy Access Technical Assistance Facility
The TEA Technical Assistance (TA) Facility aims to maximise the potential of local partners to successfully access grant funding*. The TEA TA facility is funded by UK aid from the UK Government via the Transforming Energy Access platform and delivered by EED advisory. The opportunity for TEA TA support in this round is tied to the ZE-Gen call for proposals, and is open only to selected innovators or organisations based in the eligible ZE-Gen target regions that are considering applying for the ZE-Gen open call for proposals. Applications are open from 24th February and the deadline to apply for support through the TEA TA Facility is 2nd March 2025 23:59 UTC.
Visit the TEA website to find full eligibility criteria and details on how to apply for support. https://tea.carbontrust.com/tea-technical-assistance-facility
*Please note that receiving the technical assistance through the TEA TA Facility does not guarantee success in securing grants. Successful proposals will be chosen by the ZE-Gen selection committee upon their review of the proposal, which is independent from the Technical Assistance Facility. At no point will the review panels be aware of which applicants have applied for/or received the TA support.
The ZE-Gen Awareness Raising Proposal submission deadline is 16 April 2025.