diff --git a/shared/datastore/tests/unit/connect_minio_test.py b/shared/datastore/tests/unit/connect_minio_test.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c8b381f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shared/datastore/tests/unit/connect_minio_test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+"""Definition of unittests for connect_minio function."""
+
+import os
+import unittest
+
+from shared.datastore import connect_minio
+
+
+class TestConnectMinio(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        # define relevant env vars
+        self.env_var_map = {
+            'MINIO_ENDPOINT': '192.168.1.2',
+            'MINIO_ACCESS_KEY': 'randomAccess_key',
+            'MINIO_SECRET_KEY': 'randomSecret_key',
+            'MINIO_BUCKET_NAME': 'test-bucket-name',
+        }
+        # set env vars
+        for key, val in self.env_var_map.items():
+            os.environ[key] = val
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        # clear env vars
+        for key in self.env_var_map:
+            _ = os.environ.pop(key, default=None)
+
+    def test_should_fail_when_env_not_set(self):
+        # ensure env not set
+        self.tearDown()
+        # run test
+        with self.assertRaises(AssertionError):
+            connect_minio()