The reasons we ask for 3 examples of each stove are the following:

1. At first, all are examined and compared with the dimensions submitted to ensure they match and are examples of the model declared on the submission form.
2. The first is subject, multiple times, to various performance, safety and durability tests.
3. The second is assessed in the same manner to establish that there is no significant difference in performance between two samples.  An allowance for manufacturing variability is permitted as mass produced products are subject to slight variations. 
4. The third (unused) sample product is retained at a facility that will be used during validation and enforcement.  For example, after 1 or 2 years, samples are purchased retail and tested for performance.  The newly purchased item is compared with the drawings originally submitted and the untouched sample kept in storage.  This is done to ensure no substitution of an alternative product is made during the implementation of the project. 
5. Note that models with variations are welcome, however they are always subject to reassessment before being permitted as substitutes in the project. 

1. The terms and conditions for participation have been advertised to the public and must be adhered to.
2. Written operating instructions must be provided together with the products.  Each will be tested according to such instructions.  When selling into the Rwandan market, it may be best to familiarize yourselves with the local foods and practices.

All cooking appliances will be tested at the product testing facility in the Materials Testing section of the Rwanda Standards Board (RBS), Kigali using standard fuel representative of the most common wood and moisture content.  

Contact between the entities making the submissions and the test facility is not permitted.  EDCL is your communication point, the RBS is the delivery address. 

1. The RBS testing centre is under contract to the project management firm.  Results are confidential between the submitting company and EDCL.  Please see the relevant section of the contract for further information with regard to the eventual publication of test results.
2. Companies can make a private agreement with the testing centre to have stoves evaluated on a commercial basis.  Such contracts are outside the scope of the project.
3. For biomass burning products, the test protocol that will be applied is ISO 19867-1 with certain modifications to the operating sequence to appropriately represent the context of use.  The test sequence and fuel specification will be posted online so manufacturers can test and tweak their designs to suit Rwandan conditions prior to sending them.
4. For electrical and gas and liquid fuel appliances there are different, relevant test methods listed on the EDCL website.  If they are not already posted, they will be shortly.  In every case, these evaluations are relevant to the expected context of use.
    

• The performance of electric pressure cookers will be done in the same manner that was used in the “2020 Global LEAP Awards Electric Pressure Cooker Competition” with which you are probably familiar. 
• Other electrical appliances will be tested with relevant protocols and performance targets, for example appliances without an IEC 60350-1:2016 certification would be subject to those requirements.  Other traceable certificates such as UL, CCC and CSA may be accepted without further testing.  

After the stove is certified to be part of the RBF program, the product owner/representative will be required to submit the business plan to Rwanda Development Bank (BRD), which is the entity to manage the RBF funds. The link to the BRD application is here. Please review the operation Manual for more info.

-    Registering a business in Rwanda is easy and free: Please visit Rwanda Development Board (RDB) website for more details at brs.rdb.rw/busregonline  
-    To get a licensed TIN assigned by Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), Please visit RRA website for more information at: www.rra.gov.rw/index.php;
 

To get the valid MoU with EDCL, please visit for more information www.reg.rw/fileadmin/user_upload/CALL_FOR_ICSPRODUCERS.pdf 

There are no special tax exemptions under this program. Clean cooking companies need to pay the taxes as applicable. In 2015 the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning put into place exemptions on value added tax for cooking-related products: cookstoves that meet the ISO/IWA11:2021 Tier 2-4 emission standards and fuel efficiency; biomass pellet production, equipment, tools machinery, replacement parts, appliances for the production process for pellets as well as the supply of bio-gasification energy. Fuels such as LPG, kerosene, gas cylinders and accessories, vermiculite (used as insulation for stoves), and laboratory equipment for testing cookstove emissions and efficiency are all exempt from value added tax. 

It is not mandated for international companies to have a local company as a partner. However, international companies will have to be registered in Rwanda to participate in the EAQIP RBF program. Companies should have a valid domestic company registration at RDB and should be duly licensed with a tax identification number assigned by the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA). The company must be in full compliance with relevant national regulations pertaining to tax, legal and accounting norms. The owners and managers of the enterprise must be ‘fit and proper’. (Please refer to the Operations Manuel Section 6.12 for details)

Yes, a household that is eligible for an RBF off-grid solar (solar home system) incentive, can also receive a clean cook stove incentive under the RBF as long as it meets the eligibility criteria

The stoves and technologies will start to be tested soon and the results will be made available online once the technologies are approved.

The clean cooking companies themselves make the decision on the payment mechanism for customers. 

The purpose of the cap is to mitigate the risk of overcommitting the program resource to companies which have ambitious targets but could not deliver. The cap of RWF 500,000,000 for a company will be applied initially. Based on the company’s actual performance, BRD can review and revise the cap as needed. 

The subsidy is based on a percentage value according to the tier level of the stove and the Ubudehe category of the household. The maximum subsidy amount is also capped to limit the total amount of subsidies per household to allow the program to reach its targeted number of beneficiaries. 

Initially, EDCL will only check the eligibility based on the Ubudehe categories. However, as the project advances, a web-based Eligibility Tool will be developed to help companies to book (pre-register) and confirm (registration) the sale. A household who is registered by a clean cooking company will not be booked by another clean cooking company.

Yes, electric pressure cookers will be included under the RBF program. 

The EPCs will be evaluated for electrical energy efficiency according to a power consumption test extracted from the Global LEAP test method storage.googleapis.com/leap-assets/Global-LEAP-EPC-Test-Method_v1-March-2020.pdf. 

The essential elements of energy efficiency and adequate operating instructions will be assessed.  The cooking sequence will be a test of heating and ~30 minutes at maximum pressure.  Products that have already been tested by a recognized laboratory according to this protocol can submit their traceable certificates of performance.  The project reserves the right to conduct further contextual tests when relevant.
The tiers of performance will be assigned according to the evaluations of available products on the market.  That process is currently ongoing. A full list of supported product types, the test methods to be applied, the relevant metrics and performance tier targets will be made available by EDCL.
 

There are two categories of products: those that consume energy from a pipe or wire, and those that have solid fuel fed into them either once or periodically during a cooking sequence.  

With the first category, which includes EPCs, the energy delivered into the cooking vessel is divided by the energy drawn from the source, times 100%.  The answer is in % efficiency.  

With the second category the energy delivered to the cooking vessel is divided by the energy available in the unrecoverable raw fuel fed, times 100%.  The answer is in % efficiency.  
 

The detailed carbon finance mechanism is still under development. To participate in the EAQIP RBF program, clean cooking companies are expected to transfer carbon credits to BRD. 

Implementation arrangements for carbon finance are still under discussion. The project implementing agencies BRD and EDCL will have the overall responsibility for carbon credit related monitoring and reporting.