Access to goods and services is a constant challenge for rural communities in Africa and Asia. These challenges have been exacerbated further by the Covid-19 pandemic. Waterbus builds and operates catamaran ferries for safe and affordable transport of passengers and goods, linking islands on Lake Victoria to the Kenyan mainland. Although rural Kenya is not…
In Uganda, Covid-19 restrictions have left many entrepreneurs in the informal sector struggling to take care of their families and cover basic living costs. SF partner Tugende provides asset financing, training, life and health insurance, and active business support to help MSMEs own their economic future. Tugende’s core product is a financing package for local motorbike taxi…
For smallholder farmers in emerging markets, access to products, finance and information is vital to improving their yields and income, allowing them to climb the energy ladder. Apollo Agriculture, who we have supported since 2018 with co-funding from the UK government, uses remote sensing, data science, and agronomic machine learning to help Kenyan farmers, backed…
The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of renewable energy as a vital resource, helping governments to protect their citizens and reduce the spread of the virus. Nayo Tropical Technology has showcased a timely and innovative response to Covid-19. Working with Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Nayo provided three off-grid solutions: A 10kw hybrid solar…
SF is supporting the African Mobility Initiative (AMI) to find start-ups and innovations addressing sustainable mobility in the informal transport sector in Kenya and Uganda. Through its Africa Transformative Mobility Accelerator (ATMA), and also supported by the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) – with whom SF entered into a Memorandum of Understanding last month to…
Shell Foundation Trustee and former Chair, Malcolm Brinded, has announced his intention to retire from the Foundation with effect from the forthcoming meeting of the Board of Trustees on 12 March 2020. Malcolm has been a Trustee of the Shell Foundation for almost 16 years, serving as Chair for eight years (2009-2017) as well as Chair…
Shell Foundation partner SunCulture was recently selected to demonstrate its technology at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London. The summit was hosted by the UK Government, and brought together heads of state from across Africa to encourage investment across the continent. SunCulture exhibited its industry-leading solar-powered irrigation system, the RainMaker2, in front of political leaders…
Shell Foundation and TUMI, the government-led funding initiative focused on sustainable mobility, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to advance the awareness and activity around sustainable transport. The MoU was signed at the Transforming Transportation conference in DC and commits both organisations to collaborating over work on advocacy, pipeline development and impact measurement in…
by Simon Meier, Senior Vice President, Partnerships & Impact at Konexa Successful, profitable utilities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that are meeting their regulatory mandates in terms of quality, cost and reach of service are hard to find. According to the World Bank, utilities in only two countries in SSA – Uganda and the Seychelles –…
Press Release: Announcing the launch of the US$120 million Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund to provide affordable access to energy for homes and businesses Amsterdam, Netherlands – December 5, 2019 Shell Foundation, a UK-registered charity, together with FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, announces the launch of the US$120 million Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), with…