INVESTOR TOOLKIT · VERSION 3.0
(Version 3.0, September 2026) Prepared by Intellecap in collaboration with IDRC
Clean cooking enterprises are often assessed as one investment category. In practice, they run very different business models, each creating value, carrying risk and needing capital in its own way. Judging them all by the same criteria leads to the wrong questions, benchmarks and financing structures.
This toolkit groups the sector into five business archetypes (Product Seller, Access Provider, Network Distributor, Carbon Integrated Model and Infrastructure Utility) and guides users through the investment lifecycle:
Product Seller
Access Provider
Network Distributor
Carbon Integrated Model
Infrastructure Utility
1.
Screen
identify an enterprise's archetype and stage (Early, Growth or Scale)
2.
Diligence
run archetype-specific checklists with Green/Amber/Red benchmarks and a clear investment decision
3.
Structure
match financing instruments, ticket sizes and de-risking needs to each archetype and stage
4.
Engage
give enterprises stage-specific feedback on what to fix to become investable
5.
Exit
set realistic return expectations and exit routes, and spot common failure patterns early
