The Uganda Off-Grid Energy Market Accelerator (UOMA) is a neutral intermediary focused on accelerating the growth of off-grid energy access in Uganda to enable universal energy access. SF co-created UOMA in 2017 in partnership with USAID, Power Africa and the UK Government, to be implemented by Open Capital Advisors, a management consultancy headquartered in Nairobi,…
SF portfolio partner SunCulture recently announced the launch of its latest generation of solar-powered irrigation tool, RainMaker2, with a new ‘Internet of Things (IoT) capability that will help to boost the productivity of the world’s 570 million smallholder farming families. RainMaker2 offers more than double the amount of water than its predecessor and a longer…
Rent to Own (RTO) has successfully completed a seed round of $1.05m in equity, enabling it to grow its provision of high-impact assets to small scale-entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers in rural Zambia. The round was led by shareholder AHL Venture Partners, who significantly increased its investment, and supported by Small Foundation and Jordan Engineering (via…
SF portfolio enterprise Sure Chill recently received recognition for its innovative cooling technology after winning the UK Eagle Lab Innovation category at the Barclays’ annual High-Growth & Entrepreneur Awards. The awards celebrate entrepreneurs’ success, leadership and positive impact on society. Sure Chill has developed and patented unique technology that enables cooling equipment to maintain a…
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…
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…
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 Increases farmers’ yields by up to 300% Winner of the Morgan Stanley Sustainable Solutions Award for their breakthrough innovation Launch and roll-out of IT infrastructure changes on SunCulture solar water pumps that will lead to lower after sales costs SunCulture provides smallholder farmers in East Africa with the technology, financing and training to…
KEY FACTS In addition to core countries of Kenya, Mexico and India, Sistema.bio is running pilots with partners in eight other countries across four continents More than 180,000 farmers and family members being impacted by renewable cooking fuel, organic fertiliser and cleaner air quality Recognised at World Economic Forum for Social Entrepreneurship, and Ashden Awards…
KEY FACTS Reduces post-harvest food wastage by 50% Five times more energy efficient than alternative refrigeration technologies 74 units deployed across Africa; aiming expanding to smallholders/outgrowers with a service model Poor or non-existent refrigeration options in emerging economies results in high levels of food waste and reduced income for smallholder farmers. InspiraFarms supports small and…