The Democratic Republic of Congo represents one of the most challenging frontier markets to work in, with no or poor access to energy. In August 2017, we supported UK company Bboxx, alongside the UK Government, USAID and Power Africa, to pilot their off grid solution in the city of Goma, on the eastern border of the…
Read the business first approach report on gender inclusion (PDF 25.1MB).
GroFin is an impact investment fund manager focused on small and growing businesses serving low-income communities. This latest report provides an overview of what they have accomplished so far and explains their plans for 2018. Shell Foundation partnered with GroFin in 2004 to co-create an innovative integrated solution business model to address the needs of…
Grant-makers, donors, impact investors and development financiers must combine to leverage the $33 billion funding that energy enterprises require to meet Africa’s basic energy needs by 2030. Larger, more agile “blended” finance vehicles – providing early-stage funding at the right time at the right scale – are needed to enable this. The Portuguese city of…
SF’s partnership with Open Capital Advisors is helping off-grid enterprises in Uganda access local debt finance, public partnerships to serve low-income households and international support to enhance energy for productive use. Download the 2018 market map (PDF 1.2MB).
Decentralised renewable power generation and distribution systems such as mini-grids, are important tools for providing power to the roughly 600 million Africans currently living without access to modern energy services. For African Governments to meet the Sustainable Energy for All Goal of Universal Access to Energy By 2030, it is estimated that 40 percent of…
SafeBoda is using modern technology to provide safer rides to motorbike taxi (boda-boda) passengers, increase profitability and regulation for drivers, and improve the lives of thousands of Ugandans that rely on boda-bodas as their main source of daily transport. Boda-bodas play a vital role in the Kampala traffic system as they are affordable and can…
Shell Foundation provides patient grant funding and extensive support to our social enterprise partners with the objectives of creating maximum impact and making those enterprises financially viable. Husk Power Systems’ recent announcement of commercial investment from Shell Technology Ventures LLC, Swedish development finance institution Swedfund International and ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies, ENGIE group’s impact investment fund,…
Two recent additions to the SF portfolio are using innovative technology and business models to deliver increased and improved access to energy in Africa, including into some new and challenging markets. SF is supporting BBOXX and Aceleron as part of our strategic partnerships with the UK Government and USAID, which aim to create and scale…
By Charlie Nichols and Samir Ibrahim, Co-Founders of SunCulture Four out of five African families depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, yet just four percent use irrigation with the rest relying on increasingly unreliable rainfall. We know that switching to irrigated agriculture can increase yields by up to 90 percent when compared to nearby rain-fed…