Key Insights

There was a high demand for R&D funding for cooking, cooling, and internet of things (IoT) and information and communications technologies (ICT). The majority of applications received were for a specific appliance or piece of equipment. Cooking and cooling-related projects received the majority of applications. Demand was also high for internet of things (IoT) and information and communications technologies (ICT). The R&D fund received five applications requesting a total of £540,000 in funding for these technologies.

Many of the organisations that applied to the open call were headquartered in developed countries. It was identified that greater effort was needed to reach organisations based in UK aid priority, developing countries. The 2019 open call also experienced low engagement from organisations based in Asia where the vast majority of appliance manufacturing occurs. Following the first open call, Efficiency for Access staff met with organisations in manufacturing hubs in Asia to learn more about how R&D activities take place in these hubs. Going forward, Efficiency for Access plans to facilitate better connections between the manufacturing hubs in Asia and markets in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Many of our funded R&D partners are conducting field trials in sub-Saharan Africa. The map below shows the number of R&D partners implementing a part of their project in each country in which projects are taking place.