Theme: Access to Finance

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…

Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda – exploring what’s needed to deliver a low-carbon energy access in three markets

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Today we launch our latest research at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, looking at what is needed to deliver a low-carbon universal energy access in three key markets – Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda – and highlighting potentially disruptive ‘game-changers’ for each market. The country deep dives represent the third phase of the research, conducted by…

Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund announces three new investments in African energy access enterprises

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The Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF) has completed  its first three investments into distributed renewable  energy (DRE) companies working in Sub-Saharan Africa, and signed a concessional loan agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) that allows the fund to continue releasing flexible capital into the sector, which is making a critical contribution to expanding energy…

Persistent reflects on 10 years building energy access ventures

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In the 10 years since its founding, Persistent has built a venture building model that has invested in businesses providing PAYGO solar home systems as well as commercial and industrial solar, ecosystem enablers and e-mobility players, delivering financial returns and significant impact, improving more than four million lives across sub-Saharan Africa.   Shell Foundation has…

Jali Finance

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KEY FACTS Financed 250+ motorcycles, and on track to do deploy an additional1000 by end of 2022; Impact assessment shows that on average one motorcycle financed impacted five household members; Achieved 50% development of being a fully-fledged digital microfinance by end of 2022 Jali Finance is a Rwandan start-up that began with the mission of…