Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) business models have enabled solar product companies to increase their sales and penetration in low-income markets across Africa and Asia, yet the model still faces challenges of high customer default rates, driven by school fees payment scheduling, low yields and dry seasons. The last two of those default drivers can be explained by…
KEY FACTS Post-harvest losses in Tanzania account for at least 40% of farmers’ production Retailers do not have reliable supply of high-quality produce while farmers waste their harvests Supply chain inefficiencies result are a major cause of these losses East Africa Fruits (EAF) aggregates fresh produce from smallholder farmers, offering them assured market access for…
In 2018 the POWERED (Promotion of Women in Energy Related Enterprises for Development) programme was launched by FCDO India and SF to increase gender inclusion across the energy value chain, which is vital if the UN SDG7 is to be met. S4S Technologies was one of the first businesses supported through the POWERED programme, established…
Shell Foundation is seeking applications to fund health electrification projects via targeted financing mechanisms as part of a new pilot programme. As mini-grid companies, development finance institutions, health organisations, and non-profits announce initiatives to support the electrification of COVID-19 health facilities, a key challenge remains to strike a balance between rapid deployment and the long-term…
WASHINGTON – The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Shell Foundation (the UK-registered charity) yesterday announced a new collaboration to bring affordable renewable energy to more than 5 million people in low-income areas of Africa and Asia by 2025. The organizations recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding that enhances their ability to support the…
With the support of Shell Foundation and the UK Government’s FCDO Agricultural Research arm through the CASEE programme, Factor[e] Ventures has been building a world-leading portfolio of impact ventures at the ag-energy nexus while simultaneously developing key insights to move innovation at this intersection forward. In 2019-20, Factor[e] developed a programme of demonstration projects with…
KEY FACTS Signed up over 250 white meat merchants as agents (butcheries and restaurants) during 2021 Signed off-taker agreements with four fisherfolk cooperatives with over 2000 fisherfolk Ranked in the top 20 African early stage Start-Ups by the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Keep IT Cool provides affordable, reliable and efficient cold chain solutions to…
How can the direct impacts of biogas support the achievement of the SDGs? How does this impact vary between different market segments? A new report – commissioned by Shell Foundation with co-funding from the Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office – analyses the contribution of biogas towards SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)…
VentureBuilder has produced two learning papers outlining how they have continued to build an investment pipeline of locally owned and managed African off-grid operators, by refining its sourcing model and build operator resilience by adapting its business support offerings. Shell Foundation has supported VentureBuilder (VB) since 2019 with co-funding from USAID and…
As the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to unfold, rural households are among those most impacted. This learning brief — commissioned by SF with co-funding from the Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office and the Mastercard Foundation Rural and Agricultural Finance Learning Lab (RAFLL) — examines actual impacts of Covid-19 on rural households in…