Shell Foundation’s portfolio

Ampersand Energy is an EV energy tech company, making affordable, reliable, and zero-emission mobility solutions available to five million motorbike taxi drivers in East Africa. With more than 5,700 electric motorcycles on the road and the an advanced battery swap network, Ampersand is driving the transition to sustainable transportation while delivering life-changing savings for its customers, cleaning air quality, and improving people’s health. Shell Foundation’s support has enabled ongoing research and development of cutting edge AI-optimised energy technology and infrastructure to catalyse clean economic prosperity for thousands of moto-taxi drivers and their families.

BFA Global, together with Shell Foundation, Accion, will work to accelerate the adoption of clean energy solutions in low-income communities in sub-Saharan Africa. The Climate and Finance Innovations (ClimaFii) Alliance will provide catalytic support to climate enterprises and financial service providers to bridge the gap between energy access and financial inclusion for microenterprises across Sub-Saharan Africa.

East Africa Foods aggregates demand and delivers a wide range of produce directly from farms to stores of B2B customers – retailers, wholesalers, local vendors, restaurants and cafés, hotels, and exporters. They support smallholder farmers on crop planning in alignment with marketplaces, upgrading farm side infrastructure and transition to sustainable practices. Shell Foundation’s funding was provided to support at least 1,500 new farmers with an income uplift; the installation of two solar ripening units and one solar dryer; and a clear value proposition for the ecosystem to be delivered, detailing the business potential for these off-grid centres, both in terms of business efficiencies and reducing GHG emissions.

Equatorial Power is a distributed energy infrastructure company that provides reliable access to energy via solar mini-grids along with other energy related value-added services including agriculture processing, fish drying, water purification and e-mobility etc. to drive overall economic development of rural and remote communities in sub Saharan Africa. Shell Foundation’s funding was used to identify productive use strategy to achieve site level profitability and establish a partnership framework with EnerGrow.

Good Machine will assist up to eight companies over four years, aiming to reduce the cost of their post-harvest loss solutions by 20-30%. This advisory will include product design, component reduction, prototyping, field testing, and validation.

Havenhill is demonstrating a scale-up mini-grid model in Nigeria, with rapidly deploying sites, providing power to farmers, microenterprises and households. The construction of “Imane”, a large mini-grid site, will provide power to 4,542 homes and businesses and will also raise local currency for local OPEX in naira

Scaling sustainable mini-grid solutions in emerging markets, in partnership with key stakeholders, to maximise local impact. Shell Foundation is funding 15 mini-grids

Inficold is a refrigeration/cold chain company that designs and manufactures cold storage units, milk coolers, and air conditioners. These systems have inbuilt thermal energy storage to provide fast cooling rates, short precooling times, and cooling redundancy during power failure. With support from Shell Foundation and FCDO, Inficold accelerated the manufacturing and sales of its energy efficient and affordable cold storage solutions to impact lives of over 150,000 low income people in India.

InspiraFarms designs, develops, installs and finances efficient precooling and coldchain technology for fresh fruit and vegetables, flowers and animal protein supply chains in Africa and other emerging markets. Shell Foundation and FCDO provided support for research to understand and accelerate smallholder farmer involvement and influence within these value chains, directly supporting rural development and climate mitigation.

Jali Finance is a Rwandan non-deposit-taking financial institution mainly focusing on leasing electric bikes. Shell Foundation’s support has helped Jali speed up the switch of focus from fuel to EV bikes.

Jaza Energy provides a distributed network of charging stations for batteries that power entire homes and communities. Shell Foundation is working with Jaza to develop pricing and customer service strategies to reach low income households. In partnership the organisation is also piloting pricing and services best suited to the highly seasonal income patterns that are often found in rural Tanzanian communities, where agriculture is the primary source of household income.

Kofa is technology-driven energy company and end-to-end ecosystem enabler transforming urban Africa energy landscape by providing clean, reliable, and low-cost energy solutions. Focused on swappable batteries for motorcycles, households, and small businesses, Kofa integrates design, technology, and customer experience to offer a seamless energy solution. Shell Foundation has supported the development of Kofa’s Battery as a Service (BaaS) or ‘Swap and Go’ model for EVs and diesel genset displacement in Ghana and is supporting international expansion, enabling demonstration of financial viability of Kofa’s multi-use case battery model and catalysing commercial funding for charging infrastructure and batteries for scale

Keep IT Cool provides sustainable refrigeration and smart distribution solutions for smallholder farmers and fishers. It helps extend the shelf life of their produce, reduces spoilage, and creates more stable incomes. Shell Foundation is supporting Keep IT Cool to pilot solutions for intermittent grid and off grid fisherfolk and distributors, to help expand its reach and generate additional income, and will also help to validate Keep IT Cool’s business model by supporting investment in scaling assets and providing strategic business support.

Metro Africa Express (MAX) is pioneering the future of electric mobility in Africa with affordable, subscription-based EV financing and end-to-end support services. Powered by advanced technology, MAX operates across Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon, making sustainable transportation accessible at scale. With Shell Foundation support, MAX is piloting strategic partnerships to enable deployment of electric motorcycles in Ghana.

Nayo Tropical Technology is a Nigeria-based renewable energy company specialising in solar micro-grid utilities for off-grid and commercial amd industrial applications, e-mobility solutions, and renewable energy EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) services. Shell Foundation’s support contributed to the construction of ~20 mini grids over 2023-2024 and produced learnings through this pilot to find longer-term solutions for the sector

Pash Global is at the forefront of energy transition investment and development, spearheading clean energy initiatives in emerging markets. Utilising advanced technology and innovative financing methods, Pash provides affordable solutions that lower carbon emissions, improve energy accessibility, and foster enduring environmental and economic benefits. Shell Foundation’s funding will scale EV deployment for urban mobility low-income gig workers and scale charging infrastructure through an innovative commercial partnership with Vivo Energy, Puma Energy, Engen, and other energy retail businesses.

Savanna Circuit Technologies builds hybrid milk chillers, solar dryers and dairy management ERPs to add value and provide more income to youths and smallholder farmers. With Shell Foundation support, Savanna is testing SOLAR THRIVE, a new low-cost low-ownership farm-gate cooling solution for smallholder farmers. The aim of the funding is to get learnings on its product-market fit, income uplift and scale potential with dairy smallholder farmers in Kenya.

Sistema.bio manufactures and sells high quality bio-digester systems with consumer financing to reduce fuel/fertiliser cost, enable clean cooking/heating, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve access to electricity. Shell Foundatoin has provided funding, business support, and strategic advice to Sistema.bio. The funding has been used to provide access to digesters, training, and financing for smallholder farmers in Africa, India, and Latin America.

S4S Technologies equips smallholder women farmers in India with solar-powered conduction dryers and food processing tools, enabling them to preserve surplus crops on-site. By reducing post-harvest waste, these farmers not only save resources but also increase their income by 9-15%. S4S connects them directly to commercial buyers, ensuring fair profits and creating nutrient-dense, preservative-free food products with a low carbon footprint. Shell Foundation is supporting S4S to help these farmers strengthen their businesses with reduced losses and market-linkages and establish others as micro-entrepreneurs able to run the dehydrators as standalone enterprises. In 2023, S4S Technologies were an Earthshot Prize Winner.

SunCulture is a late venture-stage climate smart agriculture and productive-use service provider to smallholder farmers, offering solar-water pumps, energy access and financing in sub-Saharan Africa. SunCulture accelerates farmer access to energy through its innovative business model which incorporates energy assets with enabling farmer services. Shell Foundation support was for additional funding targets to support climate finance pilots, with confirmed investments by BII and others and expansion into markets outside of Kenya including Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, and Ivory Coast.

Established in the UK but now working throughout Kenya, SureChill is a revolutionary refrigeration technology. Regular cooling needs constant power, SureChill doesn’t. Its technology means that fridges keep cool even when the power is down – particularly critical for medicine storage. Shell Foundation’s funding supported the launching and growing the off-grid domestic fridge market with over 1500+ fridges sold and diversifying off-grid fridge range for the market.

Upaya Social Ventures is building an inclusive economy by providing investment and support to mission-aligned businesses creating jobs for people living in the most extreme poverty. Upaya’s award-winning, impact-first model seeks out and supports often-overlooked companies creating work that is safe, stable, inclusive, and rewarding — generating a transformative impact on families, communities, and economies. Shell Foundation is supporting Upaya Social Ventures to support and accelerate at least 10 energy small and medium enterprises to increase income of micro-entrepreneurs in India as part of Climate and Finance Innovations Alliance (ClimaFii) programme.

4R Digital brings digital connectivity and finance solutions to market and creates digital solutions that open new markets and bring new revenue. Shell Foundation supported 4RD with its B2B digital platform, leveraging digital financial services and connectivity to drive market and financial inclusion for low-income customers. 4R Digital is developing solutions in asset financing, digital credit for micro-retailers, and climate financing for micro/small projects.

Accion is a global nonprofit on a mission to create a fair and inclusive economy for the nearly two billion people who are failed by the global financial system. Since 1961, Accion has helped build 267 financial service providers serving low-income clients in 75 countries, reaching 440 million people. Shell Foundation’s funding will support Accion with the management of the Climate and Finance Innovations Alliance (ClimaFii) programme for a period of 12 months, which aims to drive impact at scale by accelerating and supporting Financial Solutions Providers (FSPs) for pilots with energy SMEs.

AFEX Fair Trade is a leading agricultural supply chain solutions company focused on creating inclusive, sustainable and efficient food systems for Africa. With core operations across farmer outreach, aggregation and access to finance, as well as a network of over 500,000 farmers, AFEX Fair Trade organises and enables farmers to improve their productivity sustainably, while enabling local and regional trade. Shell Foundation partnered with AFEX to pilot a distribution model for a range of income increasing productive energy assets such as solar water pumps, threshers, millers, and dryers, combined with input provision, extension services and blended consumer finance to hard-to-reach and marginalised smallholder farmers in rural Nigeria.

Gates Foundation is a non-profit working to help people lead healthy, productive lives. It works with partners in developing countries to create impactful solutions so that people can take charge of their futures and achieve their full potential. Shell Foundation has partnered with Gates for the project “Catalysing Innovative Financing for Clean Energy Assets” to understand how increased usage of renewable energy solutions can enable low income women to increase their income

Cavex (Carbon Value Exchange) uses digital finance and innovative technologies to drive environmental and socioeconomic benefits for the people and communities most in need. Shell Foundation’s funding is to 4R Digital to develop and test two applications of Cavex platform: 1) carbon financing bundled with asset financing; 2) carbon financing bundled with gender co-benefits. With these additional capabilities, CaVex has the potential to use carbon finance to unlock additional financing solutions – advancing affordability for low-income customers to access clean energy assets for productive uses.

Distribution partnership with Cooperative Bank of Kenya to provide funds for a grant to pilot a new distribution channel for six assets in Kenya and to test a results-based step-down interest rate for loans made to smallholder farmers for these assets

Davis and Shirtliffe are the leading supplier of water and energy-related equipment in the East African region. With support from Shell Foundation and FCDO, Davis & Shirtliff and 4R Digital has founded a company – DayLipa – that will provide flexible and affordable financing for income-generating energy assets. The Initial focus will be on financing solar pumps, with ambitions to reach >150k customers, including 30% women, in five years

Shell Foundation is working with Double Feather Partners to provide advisory support and detailed design of an investment vehicle/facility to scale supply of affordable 2W EVs and productive use assets (PUE) in Sub-Saharan Africa, through unlocking Japanese Corporate Business Capital.

Shell Foundation and ITC have an MOU and are interested in co-operating in the fields of: 1) Increasing net income for farmers by piloting and scaling climate smart solutions; 2) Increasing participation of women in the agriculture value chain by creating diversified income generating opportunities

Distribution partnership with Mastercard to provide funds for a grant to pilot a new distribution channel for six assets in Kenya and to test a results-based step-down interest rate for loans made to smallholder farmers for these assets

M-KOPA offers innovative financial and digital products that help people unlock their potential and was supported by Shell Foundation from its inception, to establish a business model and share insights into consumer and market behaviours to help the wider sector. Shell Foundation also supported M-KOPA Labs from 2017-2020 developing larger power devices and a range of low-energy appliances and then supported M-KOPA Mobility from 2022-2024 on launching its initial R&D and pilot work into electric mobility.

M-PESA is Africa’s most successful mobile money service and the region’s largest fintech platform.

Mufin Green Finance Limited is a pioneer in climate financing solutions in India. Shell Foundation provided de-risking capital in order for Mufin to unlock commercial capital for two and three wheeler electric vehicles finance for low-income transporters in India at scale.

Ndarama Works is an African-based project delivery enterprise specialising in innovation ecosystem and market systems development, guiding governments, foundations, and corporations through complex, enterprise-level challenges. Ndarama is a pilot implementing partner for the Scaling Passive Affordable Cooling for Environmental Sustainability (SPACES) project in Africa. This initiative aims to combat heat stress and increase the incomes of micro-entrepreneurs and individuals living below the living income threshold in emerging markets. The project forms part of the Technology-to-Market partnership between the Shell Foundation and Trane Technologies.

RevFin supports fleet owners, particularly startups, in acquiring electric vehicles, playing a pivotal role in fuelling the gig economy. Shell Foundation has supported Revfin by developing ecosystem partnerships, fundraising and reducing lending risk. RevFin is currently working on a project in Uttar Pradesh, the largest state on India, around financing electric three wheelers along with a demand aggregator.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is India’s Development Finance Institution for promotion, financing and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector as well as for co-ordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities. Shell Foundation’s support provided an Electric Vehicle Risk Sharing Facility to unlock commercial capital for EV Financiers for onward lending to low-income tansporters in two wheeler and three wheeler segments.

TAILG is a diversified corporation integrating research and development, production, sales, sharing, charging, and battery swapping of electric two and three-wheelers.

Shell Foundation played a key role in designing and warehousing the original responsAbility Energy Access Fund, that was then rolled into and scaled via the Access to Clean Power Fund (ACPF).

Financial Solutions

Shell Foundation has an MOU with the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, British International Investment (BII) to support the just and inclusive energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In 2023, the partnership announced a carbon credit pilot investment to scale supply of solar irrigation in Kenya.

Shell Foundation expanded our MOU with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in 2023 to increase the flow of commercial capital into Distributed Renewable Energy solutions in emerging markets. The partnership addresses several DRE areas including energy for households and local enterprises, e-mobility, and climate-smart agri-tech.

Financial Solutions

EchoVC is a pioneering early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to empowering underrepresented founders and catalysing innovation in underserved markets. Deploying sector-focused investment vehicles and leveraging Observational VC© alongside deep local insights, EchoVC strategically back transformative teams, technologies and scalable solutions across high-impact industries in emerging economies. Shell Foundation’s support is for sourcing and transacting investments into companies in key focus sectors; accelerating the growth of African owned/managed businesses through investment and business development that can deliver commercial scale; and leveraging 1-3X additional capital into portfolio companies

Financial Solutions

Factor E is an impact investment platform that identifies and invests in solutions to the world’s toughest climate and development problems. Operating at the intersection of risk capital, technology, and frontier markets, they accelerate the impact of innovation on economies, communities, and the environment. By collaborating with a diverse network of partners across the energy, agriculture, water, and mobility sectors, Factor E works to address climate change and reduce income inequality. Shell Foundation has been a long-standing funding partner of Factor[e], providing it capital in order to identify, invest and support a number of aligned businesses with SF strategy.

Shell Foundation has an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Dutch Development Finance Institution to support the just and inclusive energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa and India. The MOU has resulted in collaborations and co-investments in companies and financial intermediaries such as the Energy and Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF) and the Energy Access Relief Fund (EARF).

Financial Solutions

Nithio is an AI-enabled climate finance platform for the DRE sector and beyond, working both as a FinTech product business (credit risk analytics engine), as well as a receivables financing open-ended debt vehicle/platform. They have standardised credit risk to catalyse billions of dollars to address climate change and achieve universal energy access. Shell Foundation’s funding supported development of Nithio’s risk analytics product towards new types of assets. Its latest funding de-risked Nithio FI’s access to energy lending facility to enable draw-down from senior investors.’

Shell Foundation committed capital to be used as a catalyst in the Junior tranche and in particualr facilitate investment for the e-mobility value chain as part of the overall fund mandate.

Financial Solutions

Financial Solutions

Financial Solutions

Rabo Foundation, the social fund of Rabobank, is dedicated to the upliftment of smallholder farmers by furthering their access to finance, markets, knowledge and networks. Working across 22 countries Asia, Africa and Latin America, Rabo Foundation has several innovative instruments to further access to finance by way of direct loans, credit guarantees and technical assistance. They have been pioneers in the Indian blended finance landscape, working with several financial institutions- banks, non-banking financial institutions, start-ups and ag-fin-techs in furthering access to finance in the smallholder agri-value chain. This partnership between Rabobank Foundation, Ikea Foundation and Shell Foundation, using FCDO CASEE funding, was established to develop a guarantee from DFC to leverage $55m of debt financing in the Indian agri-energy ecosystem. A Technical Assistance facility was also established to further enable the agri-energy ecosystem to grow.

Financial Solutions

Shell Foundation has partnered with the United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform and the Catalysing Agriculture by Scaling Energy Ecosystems (CASEE) programme. Both initiatives under the Ayrton Fund are focused on accelerating the scale up of innovative clean energy technologies and businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.