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6.0 Propositions and conclusion: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
We have argued throughout that the expansion of
enterprise, particularly SMEs, is critical to economic
and poverty reduction. This is hardly a new or
revolutionary argument. It has been advanced by
many others starting probably with Adam Smith.
Indeed, a great deal of government policies and
IDC interventions over the years have focused on
creating the enabling environment for the
expansion of the private sector in poor countries.
1.0 Executive Summary: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
The modern world has always encompassed
extremes of affluence and poverty. But in 2005 the
confluence of advocacy, political serendipity and
natural disaster has rapidly pushed the plight of the
impoverished up the agenda of the wealthy as
never before. The sharpness of the challenge being
thrown down on behalf of the poor and the
pressure on the rich to take action in response is
unprecedented, as is the level of debate on a topic
previously all but ignored by the public and
mainstream media.
2.0 Introduction: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
This paper has two objectives. The first is to
introduce the Shell Foundation and its way of
working. The second is to offer up insights drawn
from our experience as a contribution to the wider
debate on how the private sector and the International
Development Community (IDC) can
most effectively catalyse equitable, self-sustaining
development in poor countries (see annex 1).
3.0 The case for putting pro-poor enterprise at the heart of the war on poverty: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
2005 is set to be a big year for poverty. Doubling
aid, making trade fair and dropping Third World
debt are the headline goals of a campaign being
waged and supported by many official and nongovernmental
aid and development organisations
determined to make ‘Make Poverty History'.
4.0 Learning by doing: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
the Shell Foundation experience in catalysing
pro-poor enterprise development
5.0 Shell Foundation's experience on the ground: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
Below we illustrate how the four elements of our
approach – financial viability, scaleability,
deployment of business DNA and harnessing of
corporate value-creating assets – are present in and
add value to what we do as a corporate foundation.
We draw in detail in the main text on material
from our Energise and Breathing Space programmes
which address the energy and poverty challenge.
We also refer extensively to other activities of ours
in the footnotes and in Annex 2.
5.1 Case Study 1: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
Sustainable solutions to Indoor Air
Pollution: the biggest killer you’ve
never heard of
5.2 Case Study 2: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
Catalysing the pro-poor market
for solar home systems
5.3 Case Study 3: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
Nurturing pro-poor small enterprise
in southern India via the social
merchant bank model
5.4 Case Study 4: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
SME investment funds – deploying
local capital and the challenge of
going to scale
5.5 Energy access as market failure: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
In sub-Saharan African countries as in other poor
regions, development of the SME sector in energy
and other segments is constrained by market failure.
5.6 Deciding on the right approach: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
We took explicit account of this reality in adapting
our model (viability, scaleability, business DNA
and Shell Group assets) to develop a ‘market entry’
strategy into the Ugandan and South African energy
SME sector. This strategy had four components:
5.7 Meeting the needs of the entrepreneur: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
Simply making finance available in the $10,000 to
$500,000 deal size was crucial to attracting the
interest of Ugandan and South African SMEs since
it had never been available before. But other
features were also designed into the model to
provide tailor-made support to entrepreneurs.
5.9 Applying lessons learned from Uganda in South Africa: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
Based on what we learned in Uganda through UEF
(including the convening power that the Shell
brand had with local banks) we established ETEF,
our South African fund, with new financial
products and an independent intermediary in the
form of an independent fund manager with
particular expertise in the small-scale energy sector
in place from the start.
6.2 Propositions for engaging the international business community: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
Our second set of propositions relates to the role of
large businesses, especially multinational corporations,
in tackling poverty. Our core position is that
through harnessing its value-creating assets, big
business is especially well-equipped to add
enormous value to pro-poor enterprise initiatives –
and elsewhere in the war against poverty.
5.8 So far so good in Uganda: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
While both SME energy funds are still young, the
pace of capitalisation in Uganda has been very
rapid, indicating interest in the market and an
encouraging depth of demand. UEF will be fully
committed before the end of 2005 – well before
the original close-out date.
6.1 Propositions for the international development community: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
The first set relate primarily to the role of donors
(including corporate foundations and philanthropy
programmes) who, because they control the
money, are critically important influences on what
issues IDC actors focus on and how they work.
6.3 Come Together: Enterprise solutions to poverty - Click To Read Article
an invitation to
invest in proving and positioning
enterprise as a key part of the
solution to poverty
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Shell Foundation
(Visit Shell's Website)
The Shell Foundation is established to
support efforts to achieve a balance
between economic growth, care for the
environment and equitable social
development - the goal of sustainable
development.
The Foundation's focus on sustainable
development is based upon the Shell
Group's belief that the long-term health
and prosperity of societies of which it is
part, and its own future, depends on the
ability of all stakeholders, worldwide, to
attain such balance.
However, as one of the most significant
international oil and energy groups, Shell
recognises the global dimension of many
sustainability issues related to its
activities. It believes it has a
responsibility and an opportunity to play
its part in addressing these issues.
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