International Women’s Day recognised across the SF portfolio

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As the world recognises International Women’s Day there are stories from across the Shell Foundation portfolio recognising the importance and impact of gender equality. Gender impact across markets and sectors Aavishkaar, a multi-product growth financial services group with a focus on India and Africa, launched its 2020 Impact Report on International Women’s Day, featuring stories…

Seeking proposals for new health electrification finance mechanisms

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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…

ASOBO officially launch ‘e-boarders’ on Lake Victoria

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SF partner and Kenyan start-up ASOBO officially launched last week, offering replacement electric engines – or e-boarders – for fishing boats, which are cheaper and more environmentally friendly than traditional petrol engines. Thousands of fishing boats – at present powered by expensive and polluting petrol engines – use Kenya’s Lake Victoria every day.  ASOBO plans…

New Household Solar Funders Group established to coordinate donor activity

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A new group of 36 funders active in the field of household solar in Africa, have come together to identify key priority areas to amplify sector impact. The Household Solar Funders Group (HSFG) builds upon the Scaling Off Grid Energy (SOGE) initiative founded by USAID, FCDO, the African Development Bank and Shell Foundation in 2018…

DFC & SF Launch New Collaboration to Accelerate Access to Renewable Energy & Gender Inclusion

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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…

New Certificate Programme aims to bring climate finance to off-grid projects

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Shell Foundation is supporting a transformative new platform to create a global market for distributed renewable energy. The D-REC Initiative is led by South Pole and Positive.Capital Partners and is supported by Shell Foundation (with co-funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), Good Energies Foundation, EnAccess Foundation and Signify Foundation. With over $500…

New partnership with Seedstars announced to support African-led start-ups

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Shell Foundation recently partnered with Seedstars to look for sustainable, scalable and innovative start-ups addressing universal access to energy-related challenges, as well as sustainable agriculture, mobility and transportation. With co-funding from UKAID, we have launched the Energy, Mobility and Agriculture Innovation Program to find African tech entrepreneurs in the mobility, transportation, energy, and agriculture space…

CrossBoundary Energy Access open source its mini-grid financing approach

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CrossBoundary Energy Access (CBEA), the blended finance facility for mini-grids, has open sourced their approach to investing infrastructure capital across Africa. Shell Foundation supported the establishment of CBEA in 2018 alongside Rockefeller Foundation and with co-funding from UK Aid. CBEA invests blended capital directly into mini-grid projects serving rural African households and businesses. The business…

MAX.ng issues $1m innovative local currency bond to drive growth

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Nigerian mobility provider MAX.ng has raised NGN400 million (US$1 million) in capital with an innovative bond issue, the first of its kind for the mobility sector in Africa. The bond – comprising one-year fixed interest notes – is managed by DLM Advisory (DLM), a Nigeria-based, regulated full-service developmental investment bank and is the first offering…

SafeBoda delivers contraceptives during lockdown

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The BBC recently featured a video about Shell Foundation’s partner SafeBoda’s partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA*) to provide contraception to those in need in Uganda. More than 760 million people globally live in extreme poverty and sexual and reproductive health problems are a leading cause of death and disability for women in the developing world. Young people especially carry…