Kofa’s multi-purpose battery tech is increasing transporter and business productivity across Africa

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Shell Foundation partner Kofa’s multi-purpose battery network has recently featured in articles in both CleanTechnica and Medium demonstrating how urban transporters and micro-entrepreneurs across Africa can lower costs and increase productivity through access to  clean energy tech. Based in Ghana – with funding from SF and UK Aid from the UK government under its Transforming…

How Solar-Assisted Electric Boats Can Empower Fishing Livelihoods

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Eighty percent of the fisherfolk on the coast of Kochi in Kerala, India use motorised boats.  But the fuel, maintenance and repair costs are cutting into the income of the community and contributing to a large amount of carbon emissions from fossil fuels. Despite having the highest net operating income among the coastal states, Kerala…

African venture capital: barriers and solutions to address imbalances

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Interest in harnessing business potential in Africa is growing year-on-year. The total amount of venture capital (VC) investment on the continent grew to between US$4.3 billion and US$5 billion in 2021, a 16-fold increase from 2017. However, the distribution of the funding is uneven. The landscape of start-ups successfully accessing funding is dominated by non-African…

NavAlt

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KEY FACTS Built and launched India’s first solar ferry, the Aditya Won the Guastave Trouve Award for ‘Worlds Best Electric Ferry’ in 2020 Transported over 1.5 million passengers across backwaters without a single drop of fuel Building India’s first solar electric fishing boats Navalt designs and builds solar electric boats for safe and affordable travel…

How effective mentorship increased investment chances for African-led social enterprises

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Our experience working with access-to-energy (A2E) and sustainable mobility (SM) start-ups in Africa has shown a market gap where lack of access to early-stage support constrains access to funding for African-led start-ups in the sectors. Effective mentorship has been shown to increase the chances of start-up success by up to three times. Co-funded by UK…

New analysis on financing E-Vehicles in sub-Saharan Africa

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Sub-Saharan Africa faces unique challenges when it comes to the transition to electric vehicles – which are expected to represent 80% of global sales across all segments by 2050 –  such as low rates of electricity access, low electricity reliability and low affordability. However, this does not mean that the continent must be left behind…

Carbon market instruments for sustainable mobility in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Transportation electrification projects face a number of barriers when it comes to accessing carbon finance, including relatively low emission reductions per vehicle, high marginal investments costs, unpredictable technology uptake by users, and complicated monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) procedures when dealing with numerous distributed assets like vehicles, charging stations, and batteries. In the midst of…

‘Moving Boundaries Campaign’ – A 40-day Tour Promoting Safe Transport for Women Across India

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Shell Foundation is supporting a 40-day tour of India that will raise awareness of gender opportunities in mobility sector. In partnership with the Moving Women Social Initiatives Foundation (MOWO) the Moving Boundaries campaign is covering 11,111+ kms of India’s boundary, unlocking the potential of women in sustainable mobility. About the Moving Boundaries Campaign The campaign…

Jali Finance

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KEY FACTS Financed 250+ motorcycles, and on track to do deploy an additional1000 by end of 2022; Impact assessment shows that on average one motorcycle financed impacted five household members; Achieved 50% development of being a fully-fledged digital microfinance by end of 2022 Jali Finance is a Rwandan start-up that began with the mission of…

What drives last mile distribution purchasing decisions in India?

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Last mile distribution (LMD) logistics continues to hinder economic growth across rural India, which houses around 70% of the population, contributing to approximately 35% to India’s overall GDP. Inefficiencies in rural logistics have negative impacts on rural economies reliant on self-employment services, agriculture and construction. Tusker Transport – a Shell Foundation partner since 2015 –…