Shell Foundation and the UK Government anchor Lendable Transportation and Energy Fund to mobilise private capital for climate and gender impact 

London, United Kingdom, 30 September 2026 – Shell Foundation, an independent charity that empowers underserved customers to raise their incomes while lowering emissions, has made a cornerstone investment in the Lendable Transportation and Energy Fund (LTEF). Funded by Shell Foundation and the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through its Global Research and Technology Development (GRTD) programme under the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform, this investment builds on longstanding backing for LTEF from both Shell Foundation and the UK government. Together, these commitments demonstrate the role of catalytic capital in mobilising private investment for climate action in emerging markets. Other funders in LTEF include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), FMO, SIFEM and a number of family offices, which are anchoring the Senior and Class A tranches. 

Lendable is a technology-enabled investment firm that provides asset-backed credit to fast-growing businesses in emerging and frontier markets. Over more than a decade, it has become a leading provider of debt finance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and midmarket enterprises (MMEs), with over $1 billion of assets under advisory and a track record of mobilising institutional and private capital into underserved sectors. Lendable leverages its proprietary Maestro data platform to assess risk, monitor assets and verify financial and impact performance at scale. 

Shell Foundation was one of Lendable’s earliest supporters, providing initial grant funding in 2016 to help build the firm’s technology-enabled credit and data platform. This new commitment represents Shell Foundation’s first investment into a Lendable-managed fund, following years of collaboration at the platform and portfolio level. 

As the first committed investor in LTEF, Shell Foundation anchored the Fund’s most junior, ‘first-loss’ tranche. This early, risk-tolerant investment plays a critical role in enabling the Fund’s blended finance structure and crowding in senior debt and equity from development finance institutions and private investors. The Fund blends public, philanthropic and private finance to deliver market-rate, risk-adjusted returns for senior equity and debt investors, backed by Lendable’s decade-long track record in the asset class, while expanding access to finance for underserved enterprises. 

At its first close in December 2025, the Fund reached $135 million, with a target final close of $200 million by mid-2027, demonstrating strong appetite from institutional and private investors for scalable climate finance solutions in emerging markets, a segment that combines significant unmet demand with downside protection provided by sustainable assets. By anchoring the Fund, Shell Foundation and FCDO aim to show how catalytic capital can unlock larger flows of private investment into climate-critical sectors, while delivering meaningful benefits for livelihoods, incomes and gender equality. 

The Fund’s first two transactions illustrate its focus on financing climate‑critical businesses that deliver livelihood, emissions and inclusion outcomes at scale. 

The first investment supports Watu, a leading asset finance company operating across Africa and Latin America. Lendable has partnered with Watu since 2017, during which time the company has become one of the largest financiers of motorbikes (boda bodas) and mobile phones across Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico and Brazil. Since 2021, Watu has expanded into electric mobility, financing e‑bikes and e‑tuktuks in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania, with more than 8,000 electric vehicles financed to date. The Fund’s investment will enable Watu to scale its lease‑to‑own e‑bike business to around 1,000 vehicles per month, supporting income generation for riders while delivering emissions mitigation benefits. 

The Fund’s second transaction is with Metafin, a rural non‑banking financial company (NBFC) providing financing for solar photovoltaic systems to micro, small and medium enterprises in India. Founded in 2019, Metafin works with more than 700 local solar installer partners across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, supported by proprietary remote monitoring and IoT‑based analytics. To date, Metafin has financed over 6,500 solar systems for rural MSMEs. A USD 5 million facility from the Fund will enable Metafin to reach a further 1,300 enterprises, avoiding an estimated 11,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent over the life of the loans.  

The investment also advances financial inclusion, with 46% of Metafin’s customers accessing formal credit for the first time and 49% of loans having a female co‑applicant.