Theme: Access to Finance

U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and Shell Foundation sign MOU expansion to support distributed renewable energy solutions in emerging markets

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Initial collaboration exceeded deployment targets within two years.  Partnership demonstrates how philanthropic and development finance institutions can align to enable faster deployment of capital into impact sectors.  Expansion will support several distributed renewable energy (DRE) areas including energy for households and local enterprises, e-mobility, and climate-smart agri-tech.  Specific focus on local representation and consideration for…

BII, Shell Foundation, and SunCulture pilot innovative carbon financing to accelerate access to solar irrigation systems for Kenyan farmers

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British International Investment and Shell Foundation approve $2.6m carbon credit pilot investment to scale supply of solar irrigation in Kenya. Investment will allow SunCulture to provide a 25-40 per cent reduction in upfront product cost and reach an additional 9,000 smallholder farmers. Smallholder farmers in Kenya produce 78 per cent of the country’s food; only…

Current funding trends for health facility electrification is widening the investment gap

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A comprehensive health facility electrification (HFE) report has been published, which highlights the total investment and the subsequent investment gap needed to sustainably electrify health facilities across seven countries in the Global South. Partnerships, strategy, and support In a collaborative project supported by Shell Foundation with UK Aid though the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform,…

AdOpes Ltd Kenya

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KEY FACTS For smallholder farmers and micro enterprises in the agriculture sector in East Africa, productive assets are an instrument to professionalise/mechanise their farming activities, increase & diversify their income streams and grow their net worth. AdOpes has a microleasing platform that enables access to these assets. It consists of the microleases which have been…

SF & BII sign MoU to work in partnership to increase access to finance for clean energy businesses in Africa and South Asia

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Shell Foundation (SF), the UK-registered charity supporting energy access market solutions in Africa and South Asia, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, to work in partnership to support the just and inclusive energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Through…

SF & FCDO provide catalytic funding to new Mirova SunFunder Fund

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Mirova, the affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to sustainable investment – supported by Mirova SunFunder East Africa Ltd as Investment Advisor (a wholly-owned subsidiary based in Nairobi) –   last week announced a $171m first close of its Mirova Gigaton Fund which aims to accelerate the clean energy transition in emerging countries in Africa and…

Shell Foundation partners with Nuveen to catalyse private equity investments into climate solutions

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Nuveen, a leading global investment manager with over $1.3 trillion of assets under management, announced a partnership today with Shell Foundation, the UK-registered charity, to drive more capital to emerging market climate solutions. Nuveen’s Global Impact team, the firm’s dedicated private equity impact strategy, expects to invest at least $100m over the next five years…

Can free wi-fi improve brand awareness and customer numbers for Nigerian rural enterprises?

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In 2020, Shell Foundation initiated a six-month wi-fi pilot, co-funded with UK Aid from the UK government, in three regions of Nigeria. Free internet access was provided through 50 selected locations to potential Swifta customers in peri-urban and rural areas. Swifta Systems is a professional technology company focused on IT services and fintech. OmniBranches (one…

Lighting Tanzania’s Rural Areas: How Jaza are reaching households living on $2/day

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Since 2020, Shell Foundation in partnership with USAID and UK FCDO has supported Jaza Energy to develop affordable energy products for low-income households in Tanzania, where – like many other African countries – around 50% of the population currently live on less than $2/day. Jaza has built solar battery retail locations providing meaningful employment to…

Carbon market instruments for sustainable mobility in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Transportation electrification projects face a number of barriers when it comes to accessing carbon finance, including relatively low emission reductions per vehicle, high marginal investments costs, unpredictable technology uptake by users, and complicated monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) procedures when dealing with numerous distributed assets like vehicles, charging stations, and batteries. In the midst of…