ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS TO POVERTY
The Shell Foundation takes an “enterprise-based” approach to social investment, applying business thinking to solve development problems. Its flagship programmes include the ASPIRE funds for African entrepreneurs, EMBARQ to reduce congestion and pollution in developing world mega-cities, and Breathing Space to tackle indoor air pollution through the sale of improved cooking stoves. In 2008, the Foundation opened a new office in the Shell Headquarters in The Hague. It helped launch a new ASPIRE fund, the largest of its kind, to support Africa’s “missing middle”. These are companies too big for microfinance but too small for large company finance. By the end of 2008, the Foundation’s four “missing middle” funds, with a total of $250 million in capital, had created more than 3,000 jobs.
MORE ABOUT SHELL FOUNDATION:
- An independent registered charity established in 2000 with an initial $250 million endowment from Shell, and an additional $160 million to cover its costs until 2010.
- It focuses on addressing poverty and environmental challenges linked to globalisation and the use of energy.
