Shell Foundation and the Grantham Institute at Imperial College, London have collaborated on a report exploring energy storage solutions for off-grid organisations, looking at new technologies, challenges and opportunities. The report presents outcome from a series of interviews with SF portfolio enterprises, and explores storage options for a number of uses: Picosolar Solar home systems…
The Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) sector will be a critical component of reaching SDG7 – and requires appropriately-funded commercial enterprises to open entire new consumer markets. In this new report, SF and Persistent present learnings from their experience in venture building PAYG companies in multiple African markets, including a case study from SolarWorks! in Mozambique, where 20…
Key Facts Holds data for 1.8m SMEs Strategic partnership with the Confederation of Indian Traders and its 70m+ members Millions of creditworthy SMEs in developing economies are underserved or unserved by the formal financial sector. CreditEnable can connect millions of creditworthy SMEs to lenders, which helps to address an $8.1 trillion market for SME credit…
Key Facts 213 staff and over 500 commission-based agents, most of whom are Kenyan youth, many from rural areas Implemented a solar light sale pilot with SF support; sold out of inventory within 6 weeks and exceeded sales target Launched several new products including a dairy product that provides everything farmers to increase milk production…
Key Facts 20,000+ people trained in 11 African countries, including 15,000 entrepreneurs 100% of businesses and entrepreneurs reported improved business performance after completing an AMI programme, with 92% reporting improved productivity and 96% improved employee engagement 75% of entrepreneurs trained increased revenue and half created new jobs AMI delivers high-quality, cost-effective learning programmes tailored to…
VIP designs and manufactures a combined heat and power plant that uses various biomass crop waste as fuel to produce productive heat and three-phase power off grid and on demand. VIP employs a design referral model, working with a range of manufacturers to source processing equipment that customers can plug into the VIP power unit and grow their…
SparkMeter provides high-quality, affordable smart metering solutions to mini-grid and central grid operators in developing rural markets around the world. Their range of meters – designed to operate in challenging and remote locations – and software allows remote management of grid performance and allows operators to supply electricity to low-consumption and low-income households and businesses…
Key Facts 72% of customers live on less than $2.50/day 92% of customers report an improvement in their lives (Acumen Lean Data study) Has dispersed more than $3m of productive equipment Rent to Own provides finance for productive equipment to rural entrepreneurs in Zambia. Using a mix of local agents knowledge and field research, they…
Key Facts Off-grid sector analysis of gaps/opportunities has drawn support from over 30 organisations including government, donors and impact investment funds NoMAP aims to reduce market barriers to energy access through high-impact initiatives in Nigeria, working in partnership with key stakeholders. In its first year, the market acceleration programme is focused on: Building market data…
Husk is one of the world’s leading off-grid utilities, providing reliable power to rural communities and businesses. They design, install and operate small-scale power plants that convert solar energy or agricultural waste into affordable electricity for people in rural India and East Africa. By using solar energy to generate power in the day and biomass…