In these testing times, it will require a coordinated effort to ensure energy services continue to reach the low-income consumers who need it most. SF partner Energy Private Developers (EPD), who we have supported since 2016 with co-funding from the UK Government and USAID, to address local market barriers to energy access in Rwanda, have…
As part of the SF support offering to social enterprises and institutions, we fund innovative marketing activity that has the potential to deliver business results and be rolled out across the wider sector. In 2019 we co-funded two projects with Bboxx, a UK-headquartered solar utility, testing a new application of WiFi technology in the DRC…
As the world adapts to a different operating environment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, at Shell Foundation we have been working to formalise our response strategy to help our portfolio of social enterprises and institutions continue delivering energy and transport solutions to low-income consumers in Africa and Asia, and that the sector response is aligned…
Access to goods and services is a constant challenge for rural communities in Africa and Asia. These challenges have been exacerbated further by the Covid-19 pandemic. Waterbus builds and operates catamaran ferries for safe and affordable transport of passengers and goods, linking islands on Lake Victoria to the Kenyan mainland. Although rural Kenya is not…
In Uganda, Covid-19 restrictions have left many entrepreneurs in the informal sector struggling to take care of their families and cover basic living costs. SF partner Tugende provides asset financing, training, life and health insurance, and active business support to help MSMEs own their economic future. Tugende’s core product is a financing package for local motorbike taxi…
For smallholder farmers in emerging markets, access to products, finance and information is vital to improving their yields and income, allowing them to climb the energy ladder. Apollo Agriculture, who we have supported since 2018 with co-funding from the UK government, uses remote sensing, data science, and agronomic machine learning to help Kenyan farmers, backed…
The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of renewable energy as a vital resource, helping governments to protect their citizens and reduce the spread of the virus. Nayo Tropical Technology has showcased a timely and innovative response to Covid-19. Working with Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Nayo provided three off-grid solutions: A 10kw hybrid solar…
SF is supporting the African Mobility Initiative (AMI) to find start-ups and innovations addressing sustainable mobility in the informal transport sector in Kenya and Uganda. Through its Africa Transformative Mobility Accelerator (ATMA), and also supported by the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) – with whom SF entered into a Memorandum of Understanding last month to…
Shell Foundation Trustee and former Chair, Malcolm Brinded, has announced his intention to retire from the Foundation with effect from the forthcoming meeting of the Board of Trustees on 12 March 2020. Malcolm has been a Trustee of the Shell Foundation for almost 16 years, serving as Chair for eight years (2009-2017) as well as Chair…
In 2019 Shell Foundation and the UK Government provided funding and support to Amiran, a leading East African agricultural distributor, so that they could test a new approach to providing appropriate credit to agricultural Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya. Agricultural SMEs across Kenya are unable to obtain the financing they need to invest in their…