📊 New trends. New signals. New opportunities. Our latest #MarketIntelligenceDigest explores some of the developments shaping inclusive energy transition markets across #Africa and #Asia, from evolving electric mobility policies and battery-swapping ecosystems to clean cooking finance, digital commerce infrastructure and changing agricultural value chains. This edition highlights: 🔹New policy momentum for electric mobility in South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Kenya 🔹Growing investment and commercial progress in e-mobility and clean cooling markets 🔹The increasing importance of interoperability, localisation and after-sales services 🔹Emerging insights on farmer incomes, diversification and resilient agricultural value chains We also share key industry events taking place over the coming months, including the Africa Food Systems Forum, Climate Week NYC and Africa E-Mobility Week. Read the latest digest here: shellfoundation.org/market-i…

🎙️ #WEBINAR | How can clean energy investments deliver stronger economic outcomes for women? On 4 June, Caribou, Value for Women and Shell Foundation will host a webinar exploring the growing evidence behind the gender-clean energy nexus and what it means for investment design. Drawing on a synthesis of 115 studies and new financial modelling across 15 clean energy assets, the session will examine how financing structures, local context and bundled support models can significantly shape outcomes for women. The discussion will also explore: - The links between clean energy and women’s livelihoods - The impact of combining energy access with finance, training and market access - Why the same asset can generate strong returns or net losses depending on financing terms and local realities - Five key factors shaping gender-responsive investment design The session will feature speakers from Gates Foundation, Acumen, SunCulture and Koolboks, followed by a live Q&A. 🗓️ 4 June 2026 ⏰ 2pm GMT / 9am EST 📍 Virtual webinar Register here: shellfoundation.org/event/we… #GenderLens #ClimateFinance #EnergyAccess

🌍 For philanthropy to drive systemic change at scale, it needs to take on roles outside its comfort zone. At the Philanthropy Asia Summit, our CEO Jonathan Berman joined The Philanthropic Agenda panel to discuss how philanthropy can help unlock larger pools of capital for inclusive impact. Philanthropy is well positioned to pilot and prove new approaches. But few organisations are structured to help those solutions reach scale. At Shell Foundation, this often means taking early risks that commercial actors cannot yet justify, helping to demonstrate viability, reduce uncertainty and build confidence in emerging markets. This approach has helped unlock financing across sectors where perceived risk remains a barrier. In India, for example, early catalytic support helped reduce barriers to financing electric two- and three-wheel vehicles at a time when lenders lacked repayment data and confidence in the market. 🎥 Watch Jonathan’s full intervention below. #Philanthropy #CatalyticCapital #InclusiveGrowth #SystemsChange

📊 How do we move capital to where it’s needed most? At the Semafor World Economy Summit, Jonathan Berman, CEO of Shell Foundation, speaks with NYSE TV about why capital doesn’t always flow to the most impactful opportunities, particularly across Africa and South Asia. From information gaps to mispriced risk, these barriers continue to limit investment in high-impact markets. The discussion highlights the role of blended finance in addressing this, using different forms of capital to better align risk and return. This is exactly where Shell Foundation focuses: taking early risk to help build investable markets and enable capital to flow at scale. 🎥 Watch the full interview. #EmergingMarkets #ClimateFinance #SustainableFinance

🌱 How can green finance reach low-income entrepreneurs at scale? Access to finance remains a key barrier for many nano-entrepreneurs. Even when technologies exist to improve productivity, reduce losses and diversify income, accessing them can be difficult, not because they are not relevant, but because they are often perceived as too risky to finance. This is how Shell Foundation is working to address this challenge. In India, alongside the Small Industries Development Bank of India (@sidbiofficial), a $3.1M risk-sharing facility has been launched to enable financial institutions to lend to low-income entrepreneurs with greater confidence. By reducing risk for lenders, the facility supports access to income-generating solutions while strengthening the case for financing these technologies more widely. This forms part of a broader effort to ensure that solutions which improve incomes can also be financed and scaled through existing market systems. For more information, read the full press release: shellfoundation.org/press-re… @FCDOGovUK #GreenFinance #Climate #InclusiveEconomy #India #Entrepreneurship

🔥 Clean cooking is often framed as a health or environmental issue. In reality, for many households, it is primarily an economic decision. Evidence from the field shows that clean cookstoves can reduce fuel use, save time, and lower exposure to harmful smoke, while improving safety and everyday productivity. Yet adoption remains uneven. Not because the benefits are unclear, but because they do not always align with how people manage cash day to day. Upfront costs, fuel access, and income volatility still shape decisions more than long-term savings. At Shell Foundation, this is where we continue to learn: 🔹 When do efficiency gains actually translate into real savings? 🔹 Which models make these solutions viable for households with irregular incomes? 🔹 And where are we still overestimating demand? The challenge is not only to demonstrate impact, but to make it work within the realities of everyday life. Insights from our work in India show that adoption accelerates when solutions improve productivity and make costs more predictable for users, particularly those operating with thin margins and irregular incomes. Find our article here: shellfoundation.org/news/fro… #CleanCooking #EnergyAccess #InclusiveGrowth #Climate

👩‍🌾 What does it actually take for clean energy to work for women entrepreneurs? Our latest report on Gender Results-Based Financing looks at how Results-Based Financing (RBF), implemented with @OdysseyEnergyS, can expand access to clean energy for women. Through the pilot, companies received performance-based incentives to reach more women customers and test new distribution and financing approaches. One insight stands out: access alone did not drive adoption. What changed outcomes was whether solutions aligned with how women run their businesses, including cashflow, risk tolerance, and daily operations. The report also shows a more structural shift. Even after RBF incentives were removed, participating companies continued to serve women as a viable customer segment. 🌐 Read the full report: shellfoundation.org/wp-conte… #GenderLens #ClimateFinance #EnergyAccess

🍳 Clean cooking scales when it fits how people actually work. Our latest report on e-cooking for street vendors in India, developed with @Finovista and supported by the UK Government via the @TEAEnergyAccess platform, shows that adoption is not driven by full fuel switching. Vendors integrate electricity into specific tasks such as boiling or reheating, while continuing to rely on other fuels where it remains more practical. This hybrid usage is not a transition phase. It is a stable operating model shaped by cost, speed, and reliability constraints. The report also makes clear where progress remains limited. Infrastructure constraints, equipment compatibility, and upfront costs continue to restrict how far adoption can go. 🌐 Read the full report: shellfoundation.org/wp-conte… #CleanCooking #EnergyAccess #InclusiveGrowth

⚡️ In the informal economy, the green transition is measured in income stability, not megawatts. More than 2 billion people work informally worldwide. In Africa and Asia, where this represents 86% and 68% of employment respectively, millions of street vendors, smallholder farmers and micro-entrepreneurs depend on affordable, reliable energy to sustain daily income. For them, energy does not simply power equipment. It determines whether they can receive payments, reduce losses, or increase productivity. Adopting cleaner solutions, however, involves upfront costs and financial risk, often difficult to absorb when income is irregular. Through its partnerships, Shell Foundation aims to support models that lower operating costs and align repayments with real income flows. Early evidence shows productivity gains in some cases. But this does not consistently translate into more stable or higher incomes. The real test now is whether the transition strengthens income stability, or shifts more risk onto those least able to absorb it. #InclusiveGrowth #EnergyTransition #InformalEconomy #ShellFoundation

👩🏾‍🌾 In #WestAfrica, #women make up up to 60% of the agricultural workforce, cultivating small plots with limited resources and high exposure to climate shocks. While technologies that improve yields and reduce post-harvest losses are widely available, women farmers are often excluded due to limited access to formal credit and capital. Supported by the UK Government through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (@FCDOGovUK), Shell Foundation and Startup Discovery School is launching the West Africa Aggregator Service Platform (WAASP), a pilot exploring risk-sharing and service-based models to reduce upfront costs, distribute risk, and make proven agri-technologies viable for women farmers. Additional support provided by Autodesk Foundation and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to enhance innovation design, technical validation and research rigor. We are leveraging three established farmer networks, myAgro in #Senegal, Vitara and Complete Farmer in #Ghana, the platform will aim to raise women's incomes by at least 20% and reach at least 200,000 farmers by 2030. The first cohort of technology and solution providers includes Synnefa (smart solar drying tech), ColdHubs Limited (solar-powered cold storage), Irri-hub (solar irrigation systems), and others that align with women farmer's realities. 🌐 Learn more: startupdiscovery.co/openinno… #ClimateAction #FoodSecurity #WomenInAgriculture

🌍 Clean energy investment is breaking records. Why is access still uneven? Global energy transition investment reached $2.3 trillion in 2025 (@BloombergNEF). Yet Africa, home to 20% of the world’s population, receives only around 2% of global clean energy capital. Much of this capital flows to mature markets and large-scale projects. Meanwhile, low-income households and informal entrepreneurs struggle to access affordable finance for productive clean energy assets. The core challenge lies in how financial risk is allocated. From a lender’s perspective: 🔹 Irregular incomes and limited credit histories increase perceived default risk From a customer’s perspective: 🔹The initial payment for a solar system, clean stove, or electric vehicle can equal several months’ earnings 🔹Illness, poor harvest or market shocks can interrupt repayments When risk sits heavily on both sides, adoption slows. Shell Foundation works with the @FCDOGovUK and other partners to test financing approaches that seek to rebalance risk between lenders and low-income customers, with the ultimate goal of increasing capital and access to livelihoods-enhancing clean energy solutions. #ClimateFinance #InclusiveGrowth #EnergyTransition #ShellFoundation

🌍 #OnTheGround | “There’s nothing like getting a first-hand account of what is happening on the ground.” – Vinita Bali, Trustee of Shell Foundation During our last convening in India, the Shell Foundation team and trustees visited several initiatives and met customers face to face. These moments offered a deeper understanding of the real impact behind the work. For Vinita Bali, Trustee of Shell Foundation, being on site and engaging with communities reaffirmed a simple truth: strategy only has value when it reflects lived realities and delivers in practice. 🗣️ Watch Vinita’s reflections from the ground in the video. @ZyppElectric, @Finovista, ETO Motors via @sidbiofficial (Small Industries Development Bank of India), Refvin, Mufin Green Finance #OnTheGround #InclusiveGrowth #ShellFoundation

🔥 #OnTheGround | Clean cooking can improve livelihoods when solutions are designed for everyday use. In India, many street food vendors and micro-entrepreneurs continue to rely on biomass and firewood, with direct impacts on health, safety, and operating costs. Moving to electric cooking requires more than new equipment; it needs simplified access to utilities, connection to government programmes to finance costs, after-sales services, and awareness-raising campaigns. Partners such as Finovista play a critical role in this transition, providing technical assistance and programme support that helps clean cooking solutions work for micro-vendors in practice. This focus on delivery models where technology, affordability, and everyday realities align sits at the heart of Shell Foundation’s work on clean cooking. See below for how this approach is applied in practice. #CleanCooking #ShellFoundation #EnergyTransition

🚲⚡Filling the missing middle in Africa’s e-mobility sector Africa’s electric two- and three-wheelers hold huge economic and climate potential, but growth is constrained by one barrier in particular: the “missing middle” of later-stage capital. In October, in London, Shell Foundation convened a closed-door investor roundtable — in collaboration with @thecarbontrust , moderated by Hystra and led by Natalie Wong, CFA, Head of Transporter Portfolio at Shell Foundation — to unpack what is holding the sector back and what is needed to unlock scale. What emerged was clear: • the sector needs more specialisation and partnerships • capital must better match business models • shared infrastructure and interoperability will be essential Momentum is building, but collaboration across investors, companies and policymakers will be key to moving the market to the next stage. Read more here: lnkd.in/dzc7xj_4

🎥 Impact comes to life in the stories of our customers. Our Trustees travelled to India to see how Shell Foundation’s partnerships translate into tangible benefits for customers and communities, ensuring that strategic decisions remain rooted in real, on-the-ground impact. From women using electric cooking to expand their businesses, to drivers becoming family breadwinners through mobility solutions — these encounters turn data into reality. As one of our Trustees shared in the video: “We speak a lot in board meetings about energy transition at a global level, but we need to understand the local context. Seeing the work validates the premise we have for uplifting incomes and creating clean energy solutions.” Sincere thanks to the partners we visited, including @Finovista, @ZyppElectric , ETO Motors via @sidbiofficial (Small Industries Development Bank of India), @revfinindia, and Mufin Green Finance, for their collaboration, insights, and commitment to impact. ⬇️ Watch the full video below. lnkd.in/eUwknTyt #ShellFoundation #Impact #CleanEnergy #Partnerships #Governance #India #EnergyTransition

🚀 24 hours left to apply! Building a startup in #energy, #mobility, #agriculture or the built environment? This accelerator is for you. Shell Foundation and @500GlobalVC have launched the Sustainable Innovation Seed Accelerator in #Nairobi: An 8-week programme tailored for seed-stage startups driving tech-enabled, sustainability-focused solutions across #Africa. If you're ready to validate your model, de-risk your business and connect with a global network of mentors, investors, and operators, apply now! ⏳ Applications close on 19 September 2025 🔗 500.co/founders/africa/seed-… #ShellFoundation #ShellFoundation25 #500Global #InnovationForImpact #ClimateTech #StartupSupport #GlobalSouth #InclusiveEconomies #EnergyTransition

📊 #Women, #energy, and #equity: insights from the 2X Summit (1/2) What does it take to centre women in the climate-smart economy? Our session at the 2X Summit brought together leaders across finance, energy, and impact to explore how to turn potential into action. In partnership with @OCA_Africa, we identified 5 key levers to unlock 1.2 million climate-smart jobs for women by 2030. 🔗 Learn more: shellfoundation.org/our-gend… 📍#2XSummit | 2 September, Manila #OpenCapital #ShellFoundation #ShellFoundation25

📣 Meet the speakers! Did you know? Women reinvest twice as much of their income in their families and communities compared to men. Yet investments in the green economy rarely target them, and the job opportunities of the green economy often remain out of reach. Based on this observation, on 2 September, #ShellFoundation and @OCA_Africa will host a working session at the 2X Summit on unlocking 1.2 million climate-smart jobs for women across Sub-Saharan Africa – and how inclusive job creation models from Africa could inform Asia and beyond. Joining the conversation: 🔹 Nathalie Gogue Ebo, Partner, Head of Gender Practice – Open Capital 🔹 Mary Thamari, Director, Solutions for Women & Marginalised Groups – Shell Foundation Together, they’ll explore what it takes to build an equitable green economy, and how inclusive job creation can become a reality across sectors such as clean cooking, e-mobility, agriculture, business enterprises and sustainable supply chains. 🔗 Learn more: shellfoundation.org/our-gend… 📍#2XSummit | 2 September, Manila #OCA #2XGlobal #Africa #GenderInclusion #GreenEconomy

🌍 Shell Foundation has been on the ground for 25 years, and we have backed ventures that improved nearly 290 million lives. We’ve helped scale clean #energy solutions that deliver water, lighting and mobile charging to farms. We’ve supported biogas access for cooking and solar cold chains that preserve harvests. This is what catalytic support looks like: targeted, enduring, and designed for impact. Discover more: shellfoundation.org/shell-fo… #ShellFoundation25 #ShellFoundation #CleanEnergy

“The partnership between @FCDOGovUK and #ShellFoundation works really well because we’re very aligned on what we want out of it and that is to see impact on the ground and to mobilise the type of finance that can support getting innovations into the field at scale” Michael Reddaway, Senior Advisor and Theme Lead, FCDO. At Shell Foundation, we are proud to celebrate our long-standing partnership with the @FCDOResearch through the Catalysing Agriculture by Scaling Energy Ecosystems (CASEE) programme. Together, FCDO and Shell Foundation have: 🔹Mobilised over £200 million in follow-on investment from institutional investors like @BritishIntInv 🔹Positively impacted 600,000+ smallholder farmers 🔹Supported innovations like @SunCultureKenya  and @SistemaBiobolsa, which are transforming livelihoods through clean energy and agri-tech solutions This partnership highlights how aligned goals and catalytic funding can scale innovations that improve incomes, resilience, and quality of life for farmers across Africa and Asia. 🔗Discover more about our impact and the power of co-funding partnership: shellfoundation.org/shell-fo… #EnergyAccess #EnergyTransition #Africa #Asia #SmallHolderFarmers #AgriTech #Innovation #ImpactInvesting #Finance #CleanEnergy #CASEE