The Nigeria Off-Grid Market Acceleration Programme(NOMAP) is an independent market accelerator that aims to address market barriers limiting energy access in Nigeria. Supported by Shell Foundation, USAID and most recently DFID, NOMAP accelerates the off-grid energy in Nigeria using a mix of research, coordination and direct interventions. Its key attributes such as independence, a focus on result,…
Vineet Rai, founder and CEO of long-term SF portfolio partner Aavishkaar, has been appointed to a working group advising on the creation of an Indian Social Stock Exchange (SSE) and help channel funding into social enterprises. Vineet will join a 15-member panel and represent India’s private equity and venture capital industry. The panel also includes…
Globally an estimated 1.5 billion people live in smallholder households. In Asia and sub-Saharan Africa smallholder farmers produce up to 80% of the food consumed. As a group, however, smallholder farmers are among some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in the world – struggling with food security, energy availability, market access, training and climate…
Smart Freight Centre, (SFC) a longstanding Shell Foundation (SF) portfolio partner, together with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, has recently released an innovative tool to support multinational companies in reducing the climate impact of their freight and logistics. The Smart Freight Procurement Guidelines will enable organisations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air…
What is the Community of Champions? The Community of Champions – supported by GOGLA, World Bank/ESMAP, Shell Foundation, USAID/Power Africa, the UK Government and SEforAll – was formed as an opportunity for ongoing exchange between governments, the private sector and development partners to work collaboratively towards creating a supportive policy environment to help achieve universal…
As part of our continued strive to discover innovative technologies and business models that bring improved energy access, we have recently supported Bboxx – alongside our co-funding partner the UK Government – to launch a new payment platform that allows Rwandans to ‘send energy home’ from anywhere in the world. Friends and family can use…
Today, the World Resources Institute (WRI) – an SF strategic partner since 2002 – launched Energy Access Explorer, a new open-source platform, leverages satellite imagery combined with 20 local data sets to visualise energy supply and demand in East Africa. More than 800 million people around the world lack reliable electricity; nearly 600 million of them…
SF partner and fintech finance company Lendable has recently hit $30m in money disbursed to non-bank lending companies across frontier markets. Lendable’s financing has supported the growth of SMEs and productive asset, consumer and PAYG solar finance companies across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana since 2016. Through these investments, Lendable has financed over 200,000 individual…
The Uganda Off-Grid Market Accelerator, which we co-created in partnership with Open Capital Advisors in 2017 with joint funding from the UK Government and USAID, has released its 2019 edition of the Uganda off-grid energy Market Map. The third annual edition is the largest mapping of the Uganda off-grid ecosystem yet, and includes separate editions…
GroFin’s Impact Report 2019 demonstrates the impact investment fund managers’ continued success supporting SGBs (Small and Growing Businesses) serving low-income communities in Africa and the Middle East. Shell Foundation partnered with GroFin in 2004 to co-create an innovative integrated solution business model that catalysed SGBs, who represent a significant source of employment and economic growth…