How does productive use biogas appliance innovation contribute to increased energy access, to rural livelihoods and to the development of biogas as a utility? Smallholder farmers are among some of the most disadvantaged people in the developing world, without access to technology, training and financing to improve productivity. There are an estimated 570 million smallholder…
SF partner and fintech finance company Lendable has recently hit $30m in money disbursed to non-bank lending companies across frontier markets. Lendable’s financing has supported the growth of SMEs and productive asset, consumer and PAYG solar finance companies across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana since 2016. Through these investments, Lendable has financed over 200,000 individual…
The Uganda Off-Grid Market Accelerator, which we co-created in partnership with Open Capital Advisors in 2017 with joint funding from the UK Government and USAID, has released its 2019 edition of the Uganda off-grid energy Market Map. The third annual edition is the largest mapping of the Uganda off-grid ecosystem yet, and includes separate editions…
Ethiopia is the world’s third largest potential market for solar products but also one of the most challenging. PAYGO solar product providers have traditionally found it difficult to penetrate the 60 million people off-grid population lacking access to energy due to several factors: A complex regulatory environment low mobile money penetration (one of the lowest…
by Seth Silverman and Morgan DeFoort, Factor[e] Ventures Smallholder farmers are among the most underserved populations in the world – and there are a lot of them. Over 2 billion livelihoods are supported by small farms, with the majority residing in the developing world [1]. We know that smallholders can be more productive and can…
GroFin’s Impact Report 2019 demonstrates the impact investment fund managers’ continued success supporting SGBs (Small and Growing Businesses) serving low-income communities in Africa and the Middle East. Shell Foundation partnered with GroFin in 2004 to co-create an innovative integrated solution business model that catalysed SGBs, who represent a significant source of employment and economic growth…
Shell Foundation partner, Shortlist, has produced a learning report which addresses the need to think about gender inclusion when hiring staff in India. The report talks about the concern in India about lost economic growth and development benefits due to low female labour force participation. The low rate seems to be explained in part by challenges in finding…
SF partner and pioneering private development finance institution GroFin, has won a Gold Award in the Financial Services (SME Development) category Ghana-Africa Business Awards after winning the same award in 2015. The award was given in recognition of GroFin’s outstanding contribution to the development of Ghana. As well as this, GroFin won the Outstanding Healthcare…
SF partner Smart Freight Centre (SFC) and the Global Logistic Emissions Council (GLEC) today released an updated method – the GLEC Framework – to calculate the carbon footprint of freight transport. The updated GLEC Framework is designed to be easy for companies to implement, with clear calculation steps, guidance on reporting and target setting. This…
SF partners Sistema.bio and SMV Green have both been recognised by the prestigious Ashden Awards 2019. Sistema.bio was presented with the Clean Cooking Award for its work to bring clean biogas to farmers in Latin America, Africa and India. Its innovative and affordable biogas system turns animal waste into clean and odourless cooking fuel whilst producing…