Date: 30 July 2026
Location: Buni Hub, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Registered: 18 confirmed invitees
Attended: 13 participants
Languages: English and Swahili
Participants
Number of Attendees and Countries Represented
Total attendees: 13
Countries represented: Tanzania
Participant Backgrounds
The session brought together participants from across academia,innovation hub, entreprenurs,
From Potential to Fundable Businesses
The session was framed around the question:
What does it take for Tanzanian businesses to move from having potential to becoming fundable businesses?
While the topic was initially relevant to early-stage businesses more broadly, the conversation narrowed specifically to the energy sector.
Key Points & Insights
Participants discussed the significant amount of funding and attention currently directed toward energy, energy transition and related opportunities across Africa. Major development institutions and funders are increasingly prioritizing the sector, creating an opportunity for African businesses and projects to access new sources of capital.
However, participants noted that Tanzania is still lagging in translating this growing regional and international interest into practical, investment-ready businesses and projects.
The discussion therefore focused on how Tanzanian founders and ecosystem actors can better position themselves to take advantage of the opportunity.
Key areas discussed included:
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Identifying opportunities within Tanzania’s energy sector.
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Building businesses and projects around clear energy-sector needs.
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Understanding what makes an energy business or project attractive to funders and investors.
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Improving investment readiness, including business models, financial projections and investor communication.
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Building stronger connections between Tanzanian entrepreneurs, investors, funders and ecosystem partners.
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Moving from conversations about funding opportunities toward practical projects that can demonstrate impact.
Challenges or Open Questions
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How can Tanzanian businesses better access the growing pool of energy-related funding across Africa?
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What prevents promising Tanzanian energy businesses and projects from becoming investment-ready?
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How can local entrepreneurs better understand the priorities of international funders?
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How can Tanzania convert growing interest in energy into tangible opportunities for local businesses?
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What practical projects can demonstrate Tanzania’s potential and create a pathway toward larger investment?
Solutions, Ideas or Proposals
Participants discussed the importance of taking a practical approach rather than focusing only on discussions around funding.
The Circle proposed identifying a tangible energy-sector intervention that could be implemented, measured and documented. Such an intervention could provide a practical example of how a local energy challenge can be turned into a project with measurable impact and potential for further funding.
Technologies or Tools Mentioned
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Clean-cooking technologies
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Business and financial models
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Pitch decks
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Investor networks
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Funding and ecosystem networks
Action Items or Next Steps
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Continue focusing Logos Circle discussions on the energy sector.
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Identify practical energy opportunities that can be developed into fundable projects.
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Identify a suitable school/hospital for the clean-cooking intervention.
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Assess the insititutionl’s existing cooking system and requirements.
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Identify the appropriate clean-cooking solution and potential partners.
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Develop and implement the pilot.
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Document the results and lessons learned.
Winnable Issue Update
Winnable Issue
The Circle identified one practical winnable issue:
Convert one Institution(School/Hospital) kitchen to clean cooking.
The objective is to take one existing school kitchen in Tanzania and transition it to a clean-cooking solution.
Why This Winnable Issue Matters
The school kitchen conversion can:
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Demonstrate a practical clean-cooking solution.
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Address a real energy challenge in a insititution.
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Generate measurable results and evidence.
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Create a case study that can support future engagement with funders.
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Demonstrate how local energy projects can move from an identified need to implementation.
Updates
The winnable issue was identified and agreed upon during the Circle meeting. The next stage is to move toward identifying the school, technology, partners and resources required for implementation.
Blockers
The specific ibsititute, clean-cooking technology, implementation requirements and partner arrangements are yet to be finalized.
Planned Follow-up Actions
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Identify a school.
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Conduct an initial assessment of its kitchen.
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Determine the appropriate clean-cooking technology.
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Identify technical and implementation partners.
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Explore potential funding
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Develop an implementation timeline.
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Complete the conversion.
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Measure and document the results.
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Report progress at a subsequent Logos Circle.
What We Learned / To Improve / New Ideas
Things That Worked Well
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The investment-readiness discussion provided a useful entry point for identifying a specific sector opportunity.
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Narrowing the conversation to energy allowed participants to explore a sector with significant funding and development attention across Africa.
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The group moved from a broad discussion about funding to identifying a specific, achievable winnable issue.
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The clean-cooking intervention provides a tangible opportunity to demonstrate the impact of collective action.
Areas for Improvement
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Strengthen follow-up between Circle meetings to ensure agreed actions are implemented.
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Clearly assign responsibilities for each stage of the school kitchen conversion.
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Bring more energy-sector investors, funders, technical experts and entrepreneurs into future discussions.
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Develop stronger links between the Circle’s practical activities and potential funding opportunities.
New Ideas or Experiments to Try Next Time
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Use the school clean-cooking conversion as the first practical energy-sector case study for the Circle.
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Explore other energy challenges that could become future winnable issues.
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Track the progress and impact of the clean-cooking project over time.
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Use lessons from the pilot to identify how similar projects could be scaled or made fundable.
Overall Outcome
The 30 July Logos Circle moved from the broad question of how Tanzanian businesses can become fundable toward a more focused opportunity in the energy sector. Given the growing funding and institutional focus on energy across Africa, participants identified an opportunity for Tanzania to better position local businesses and projects to access this capital.
The Circle’s first practical winnable issue is to convert one school kitchen to clean cooking, providing a concrete starting point for turning discussion into action.