Shell Foundation’s partnership with the FCDO
Powering clean energy and economic growth: a partnership for global impact
Shell Foundation has been proud to partner with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) since 2011.
This partnership has been built on a strong foundation of mutual collaboration, a shared strategic objective to drive the clean energy transition while raising incomes and an ability to co-fund impactful programmes.
The partnership currently supports three jointly funded programmes under the FCDO’s Research and Evidence Directorate: Transforming Energy Access (TEA), Research on Infrastructure in Developing Economies (RIDE) and Catalysing Agriculture by Scaling Energy Ecosystems (CASEE). All three programmes are part of the Ayrton Fund, a UK Government commitment to invest up to £1 billion in Research and Development for clean energy technologies and business models in developing countries.
We are proud of the long-standing clean energy and agriculture partnerships between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Shell Foundation. Our partnership has been key to enabling us to provide patient development research funding, that is so critical to catalysing innovation that delivers impact at scale for the world’s poorest.”
Shell Foundation is a leading partner and funder of the TEA platform – a research and innovation platform supporting early-stage testing and scale-up of innovative technologies and business models that accelerate access to affordable, clean energy. It helps poor households, enterprises, and social institutions in developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific.
Shell Foundation has an eight-year partnership with the FCDO’s CASEE programme. This research and innovation programme was launched in 2019 to support innovative energy and agricultural technology businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It has strengthened energy, agriculture, and food systems. It has also boosted the productivity, income, and resilience of smallholder farmers.
The Ayrton Fund is a UK Government commitment to invest up to £1 billion on Research and Development for clean energy technologies and business models in developing countries.
Shell Foundation co-funds, with the FCDO, and manages the Innovation Pillar of RIDE – the Transport Innovation Hub. This platform supports the testing, refinement, and scaling of early-stage transport solutions designed to meet the needs of low- and middle-income countries.
Shell Foundation’s lead role on the Transforming Energy Access platform
“Shell Foundation take the lead on venture building and market building and have great expertise and market knowledge. They work directly with ventures – early stage and mid-stage – helping them to get to the point where they can access commercial capital or scale capital.”
Steven Hunt, Senior Energy Innovation Advisor, FCDO
Read about our recent work with FCDO
Shell Foundation provides guarantee to catalyse U.S. International Development Finance Corporation for S4S, supporting smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs
15th April 2026
Shell Foundation and Startup Discovery School launch the West Africa Aggregator Service Platform to boost the incomes of women smallholder farmers
16th March 2026
Gender results based financing pilot
This International Women’s Day, Shell Foundation is proud to share the results of a Gender Results Based Financing (RBF) pilot…
08th March 2026
What gender-responsive financing can unlock for women entrepreneurs
A Gender Results-Based Financing pilot shows how targeted incentives can unlock income growth, resilience, and opportunity for women entrepreneurs.
08th March 2026