Shell Foundation’s portfolio

Advik is a leading automotive component manufacturer that is accelerating the deployment of Li-ion battery technology across India and Sub-Saharan Africa. Shell Foundation’s collaboration, supported by the UK Government’s Transforming Energy Access platform, focuses on research and development of three new batteries designed to power two- and three-wheeler vehicles and stationary storage options to displace diesel generators.

Ampersand is an energy tech company making affordable, reliable, and zero-emission transport solutions available to motorbike taxi drivers in East Africa. With more than 5,700 electric motorcycles on the road and an advanced battery swap network, Ampersand drives the transition to sustainable transportation while delivering savings for its customers, improving air quality, and enhancing people’s health. Shell Foundation’s support enables 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 accelerates the adoption of clean energy solutions in low-income communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. As an implementation partner of the Climate and Finance Innovations (ClimaFii) Alliance – founded by Shell Foundation and Accion – BFA provides 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 Fruits (EAF) works directly with 6,000+ smallholder farmers in Tanzania. EAF aggregates demand and delivers a wide range of fresh and exotic produce directly from farms to retailers, wholesalers, local vendors, restaurants and exporters. Their business model addresses several barriers that contribute to post-harvest losses: long distances between harvest and distribution points, the lack of storage facilities, and poor transportation. Shell Foundation provided a grant to EAF to pilot the use of off-grid cold storage facilities in rural areas to reach rural farmers and to enable EAF to manage the quality of produce more.

Equatorial Power is a distributed energy infrastructure company that provides reliable access to energy via solar mini-grids and other energy-related value-added services, including agriculture processing, fish drying, water purification and e-mobility, to drive economic development of rural communities in Sub–Saharan Africa. Shell Foundation supported Equatorial Power to demonstrate site-level profitability—particularly on the Lolwe Island mini-grid on Lake Victoria which serves approximately 4,000 connections—and to expand the company’s portfolioto attract alternative capital providers. The project also enhanced learning around demand stimulation, refining programmes in five operational sites and generating insights into the income uplift potential for MSMEs through productive energy use.

Good Machine is a venture studio that invents, deploys, and scales solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. 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%. Advisory services include product design, component reduction, prototyping, field testing, and validation. Partnering with Good Machine enables Shell Foundation to learn valuable insights about the customers, affordability models, suppliers, income uplift potential and viability of PUE assets for farmers, which will be shared publicly and can further improve the clean energy ecosystem.

Havenhill is a clean-tech utility company that uses renewable (solar) energy to generate clean, safe, cost-effective and sustainable electricity in urban and rural areas in Nigeria. Shell Foundation is supporting to Havenhill to demonstrate a rapidly scaling, financially viable mini-grid model in Nigeria which will provide power to farmers, microenterprises and households. The construction of “Imane”, a large mini-grid site, is intended to provide power to 4,542 homes and businesses.

Hamara Grid is an early-stage mini-grid developer based in Nagaland, India, focused on delivering decentralised renewable energy to rural communities. It integrates energy access with productive-use, local job creation, and inclusive village governance. Shell Foundation is supporting the installation of 30 solar mini-grids in northeast India to demonstrate a replicable Public–Private–People–Philanthropy model for rural electrification.

Inficold is a refrigeration/cold chain company that designs and manufactures cold storage units, milk coolers, and air conditioners with inbuilt thermal energy storage for fast cooling rates, short precooling times, and cooling redundancy during power failure. Support from Shell Foundation and FCDO is accelerating the manufacturing and sales of its cold storage solutions, impacting the lives of over 150,000 low-income people in India.

InspiraFarms designs, develops, installs, and finances efficient pre-cooling and cold chain technology for fresh fruit and vegetables, flowers, and animal protein supply chains in Africa and other emerging markets. Shell Foundation and FCDO are supporting research to understand and accelerate smallholder farmer involvement and influence within these value chains, creating rural development and climate mitigation.

Intellecap – the impact advisory arm of the Aavishkaar Group – delivers innovative solutions that build enabling ecosystems and channels capital toward creating a more sustainable and equitable society. Sankalp is an implementing partner for the Scaling Passive Affordable Cooling for Environmental Sustainability (SPACES) project in India, which 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 Shell Foundation and Traane Technologies.

Jali Finance is a Rwandan non-deposit-taking financial institution focusing on leasing electric bikes. Shell Foundation is supporting Jali to expand its footprint in Rwanda and demonstrate demand for clean-technology motorcycles in Rwanda to attract commercial capital by financing retrofit electric vehicle kits into existing ICE motorcycles which, if proven, will pave way for faster transition of existing ICE motorcycles into cleaner vehicles, and testing financing of e-motorcycles with female drivers to strengthen gender equity in mobility solution providers.

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

Kofa is a technology-driven energy company providing clean, reliable, and low-cost energy solutions. Its swappable batteries can power motorcycles, households, and small businesses. Shell Foundation is supporting the development of Kofa’s Battery as a Service (BaaS) or ‘Swap and Go’ model for EVs and diesel genset displacement in Ghana and supporting international expansion, demonstrating the 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, helping extend the shelf life of produce, reducing spoilage, and creating more stable incomes. Shell Foundation is supporting Keep IT Cool to pilot solutions for intermittent grid and off-grid fisherfolk and distributors, helping expand its reach and generate additional income. Shell Foundation also helps validate Keep IT Cool’s business model by supporting investment in scaling assets and providing strategic business support.

Lorentz designs and manufactures high quality, efficient products for the solar water pumping market. They are active in over 100 countries and distribute their products though thousands of distributors. Lorentz created the Lorentz impact Accelerator whose mission is to accelerate access to high impact technology in developing markets via established proven viable enterprises. Shell Foundation, with co-funding from the FCDO through the CASEE programme, supports Lorentz with a loan to finance a pilot for local solar irrigation distributors in Africa.

Metro Africa Express (MAX) provides affordable, subscription-based EV financing and end-to-end support services. 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 and industrial applications, e-mobility solutions, and renewable energy EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) services. Shell Foundation’s support contributed to the construction of approximately 20 mini-grids between 2023–2024, producing learnings to find longer-term solutions for the sector.

Pash Global provides affordable solutions that lower carbon emissions, improve energy accessibility, and create enduring environmental and economic benefits. Shell Foundation’s is working with Pash to scale EV deployment for urban mobility low-income gig workers and expand 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 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 funding aims to gather 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 and fertiliser costs, enable clean cooking and heating, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve access to electricity. Shell Foundation provides funding, business support, and strategic advice to Sistema.bio. The funding is 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 save resources and increase their income by 9–15%. S4S connects farmers 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. S4S Technologies won the 2023 Earthshot Prize.

SunCulture is a 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 supports additional fundraising to run climate finance pilots, with confirmed investments by BII and others, and expansion into markets outside of Kenya, including Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, and Ivory Coast.

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 model seeks out and supports companies creating work that is safe, stable, inclusive, and rewarding. Shell Foundation supports Upaya Social Ventures to support and accelerate at least 10 energy small-to-medium-sized enterprises that increase the incomes of micro-entrepreneurs in India as part of the Climate and Finance Innovations Alliance (ClimaFii) programme.

4R Digital designs and builds innovative digital applications that address financial inclusion, sustainability, and scalability challenges. Its cloud-based platform monitors, measures, and finances activities with positive economic, social, and environmental impacts. 4R Digital develops and commercialises solutions for low-income customers in East Africa, including PAYG solar water pumps and clean energy assets connected to climate financing. Shell Foundation supports 4R Digital in capacity-building, customer targeting, and developing gender-focused sales approaches.

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. Accion has helped build 267 financial service providers serving low-income clients in 75 countries, reaching 440 million people. Shell Foundation works in partnership with Accion to manage the Climate and Finance Innovations Alliance (ClimaFii) programme, aiming to drive impact at scale by accelerating and supporting Financial Solutions Providers serving energy SMEs.

AFEX Fair Trade is an agricultural supply chain solutions company creating inclusive, sustainable, and efficient food systems for Africa. With operations in farmer outreach, aggregation, and access to finance, a network of over 500,000 farmers, AFEX organises farmers to improve their productivity sustainably while enabling local and regional trade. Shell Foundation is partnering 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 marginalised smallholder farmers in rural Nigeria.

Cavex is a digital platform connecting buyers and investors with small greenhouse gas removal and reduction projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Shell Foundation is funding the development and testing of two Cavex applications that bundle carbon finance with asset financing and gender co-benefits. These applications aim to increase affordability for low-income customers to access clean energy assets for productive uses, demonstrating how Cavex catalyses carbon financing with additional co-benefits such as women’s economic empowerment.

Shell Foundation is working with Co-op Bank Kenya to pilot six productive use energy assets, for which the Co-op Bank will provide capital for unbanked farmers to borrow through co-operatives in the potato, maize and dairy value chains, at a step-down interest rate. Co-op Bank has digitally onboarded 1 million smallholder farmers onto Co-op Bank Soko, a white-labelled digital platform created by Mastercard which digitises the process for the supply and purchase of agricultural inputs and produce and plans to onboard at least 2 million smallholder farmers in Kenya within four years.

Davis & Shirtliff is the leading supplier of water and energy-related equipment in East Africa. Shell Foundation is supporting Davis & Shirtliff’s learning and capacity development, enabling the creation of a new business unit, DayLipa Finance, focused on the financing needs of lower-income customers. DayLipa Finance provides flexible financing for income-generating energy assets, initially focusing on solar water pumps to reach over 150,000 customers, including 30% women, in five years.

Double Feathers Partners is an international venture capital firm based in Japan that identifies fundamental social issues in Africa through research and deep involvement in the startup ecosystem. It provides services to support African markets and startup ecosystems through special projects such as acceleration programmes, accelerator support programmes, and its Africa Innovation Fund. Shell Foundation provides funds to Double Feather Partners for advisory support and detailed design of an investment vehicle/facility to scale the supply of affordable two-wheeler EVs and productive use assets in Sub-Saharan Africa by unlocking Japanese corporate business capital.

Gates Foundation is a non-profit working to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. Shell Foundation is working with Gates on the ‘Catalysing Innovative Financing for Clean Energy Assets’ project to understand how increased usage of renewable energy solutions can enable low-income women to increase their income.

Mastercard developed a digital technology platform called Community Pass – that enables service providers to better meet the needs of remote, low-income marginalised communities. Farm Pass is a vertical product on Community Pass – digitising a) processes for the supply and purchase of agricultural inputs and produce between farmers, farmer producer organisations, input providers, and buyers and b) payments and financial histories of farmers to enable third parties to provide formal financial services to them. Mastercard’s Kenyan partner is The Co-operative Bank of Kenya (Co-op Bank), who has white labelled Farm Pass, branding it Co-op Bank Soko. This partnership with Shell Foundation will pilot six productive use energy assets, for which the Co-op Bank will provide capital for farmers to borrow through co-operatives in the potato, maize and dairy value chains, at a step-down interest rate.

M-KOPA offers innovative financial and digital products that help people unlock their potential. M-KOPA was supported by Shell Foundation from inception to establish a business model and share insights into consumer and market behaviours to help the wider sector. Shell Foundation 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 in launching its initial R&D and pilot work into electric mobility.

Mufin Green Finance Limited provides climate financing solutions in India. Shell Foundation provides de-risking capital for Mufin to unlock commercial capital for two- and three-wheeler electric vehicle 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 an implementing partner for the Scaling Passive Affordable Cooling for Environmental Sustainability project in Africa. This project combats heat stress and increases the incomes of micro-entrepreneurs and individuals living below living income thresholds in emerging markets. The project forms part of the Technology-to-Market partnership between Shell Foundation and Trane Technologies.

OmniRetail is an integrated platform connecting manufacturers, retailers, and distributors with warehouses and logistics as part of a holistic approach to digitising the supply chains of fast-moving consumer goods. Shell Foundation is funding OmniRetail Technology Limited to test non-ownership business models for sustainable cooling. The funding supports deploying solar-powered cold rooms across 15 Micro Fulfillment Centres, each serving 250 microenterprise retailers.

RevFin supports fleet owners, particularly startups, in acquiring electric vehicles, playing a pivotal role in fuelling the gig economy. Shell Foundation is supporting Revfin by developing ecosystem partnerships, fundraising, and reducing lending risk. RevFin is currently working on a project in Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in 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 the promotion, financing, and development of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector, as well as for the coordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities. Shell Foundation is working with SIDBI on an Electric Vehicle Risk Sharing Facility to unlock commercial capital for EV financiers for onward lending to low-income transporters in the two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments.

Trane Technologies is a global leader in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions. Shell Foundation has a strategic partnership with Trane Technologies to tackle global challenges faced by underserved communities with open-sourced innovation. The first phase of the partnership is focusing on commercialising and scaling selected low-cost passive cooling solutions which have demonstrated clear income uplift for customers in two countries in Africa and in India.

The responsAbility Access to Clean Power Fund (ACPF) is a 10-year closed-ended fund set up to provide debt financing for household-level energy access as well as commercial and industrial applications, primarily for off-grid solar energy solutions. Shell Foundation played a key role in designing and warehousing the original responsAbility Energy Access Fund, which was then rolled into and scaled via the ACPF.

Shell Foundation has an MOU with British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, to support the just and inclusive energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In 2023, the partnership announced a $2.6 million carbon credit pilot investment to scale the supply of solar irrigation in Kenya.

Shell Foundation expanded its 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.

EchoVC is an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to empowering under-represented founders and catalysing innovation in underserved markets. Shell Foundation is supporting EchoVC to source and transact 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.

Equator is a venture capital fund that focuses on climate tech investments in sub-Saharan Africa. Shell Foundation provided first loss capital to Equator for its first fund, focused on African climate tech startups, to anchor the fund structure and mobilise additional senior equity into the fund. The fund invests in early-stage startups working to reduce carbon emissions and build climate resilience to drive inclusive economic growth across Sub-Saharan Africa. It supports Seed and Series A-stage, tech-enabled ventures in the sectors of energy, agriculture and mobility through early-stage equity-investing, an overlooked phase in their funding journey. Equator works closely with sister organisation Factor E.

Factor E is an impact investment platform that identifies and invests in technology solutions to the world’s toughest climate and development problems. Shell Foundation has been a long-standing funding partner of Factor E, providing it capital to identify, invest, and support a number of businesses aligned to Shell Foundation’s strategy.

Shell Foundation has an 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).

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.

The Mirova Gigaton Fund is a closed end debt fund that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition in emerging countries in Africa and Asia. Shell Foundation, with co-funding from TEA, committed $3m to the Fund that will be used as a catalyst in the Junior tranche and facilitate $30m investment for the e-mobility value chain. The aim of the partnership is to test EV Value Chain investments from a large DRE focused fund with a potential for impact at scale .

Nithio is an AI-enabled climate finance platform for the DRE sector and beyond, working both as a FinTech product business and a receivable 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 supports the development of Nithio’s risk analytics product towards new types of assets. It also de-risks Nithio FI’s access to energy lending facility to enable draw-down from senior investors.

Odyssey is a technology company that provides a digital platform for planning, tracking, deploying and financing off-grid and grid-edge solar solutions. Shell Foundation has supported Odyssey to develop a comprehensive asset management platform to better track, visualise, and target more technologies and use cases, including Productive Use of Energy, Solar Home Systems, and Clean Cooking. This is aimed at improving sector economics and unlocking greater finance for scale. Odyssey’s improved offering will ultimately make more solar accessible for low-income people living in rural and remote parts of Africa currently unelectrified.

Persistent is a leading venture builder in Africa focusing on PAYG and off-grid energy, with a unique model for impact and profit. They invest in world class entrepreneurs and work alongside them in operational roles. The Shell Foundation provided funding to fully prove the venture builder model, support the growth trajectories of the existing portfolio companies, and enable Persistent to realise additional exits, thereby establishing an attributable track record). Persistent also required bridge funding, consistent with its de-risking equity strategy.

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. In partnership with the Ikea Foundation and Shell Foundation, and using FCDO CASEE funding, Rabo Foundation helped develop a guarantee from DFC to leverage $55 million of debt financing in the Indian agri-energy ecosystem. A technical assistance facility was also established to further enable the ecosystem’s growth.

Sterling Bank, established in 1980, is a leading Nigerian commercial bank with over $1.2 billion in assets. It operates through 180+ branches, employs over 2,500 staff, and serves over 3 million customers. The project with Shell Foundation aims to pilot a multi-year partnership with Sterling Bank, a Nigerian commercial bank with over $1.2 billion in total assets. The partnership will provide a guarantee to unlock millions in affordable (interest <20%) local currency working capital for clean energy suppliers to support micro-entrepreneurs.

The Emerging Distributor Finance Fund (EDFF) revolutionises financing for small and mid-sized off-grid solar and clean cooking last-mile distributors (LMDs). Shell Foundation funded the pilot, making 10 loans, 70% in lower-income countries. The Sima C&I Green Bond advances the commercial and industrial (C&I) solar landscape in Africa, offering short-term corporate and project financing up to 10 years for small and medium-size local developers of projects under 5 MW. Targeting sectors like manufacturing, services, education, healthcare, and agri-processing, the bond aims to finance over 220 MW of on-site solar energy and reduce carbon emissions by 4 million tons. Shell Foundation provided capital to de-risk the fund structure and leverage private capital.

Initiated in 2019 by Shell Foundation and FMO, the EEGF provides catalytic financing for early and growth stage companies in Sub Saharan Africa operating in the access to energy ecosystem. Managed by Triple Jump and advised by Persistent, EEGF provides tailored mezzanine, equity, and debt investments combined with technical assistance. EEGF aims to address the unique needs of women as customers, employees, and energy entrepreneurs by applying the 2X Challenge criteria. Shell Foundation co-designed and seeded this new multi-product investment vehicle specifically targeting catalytic financing to early growth stage companies.