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6.3 Come Together: Enterprise solutions to poverty

an invitation to invest in proving and positioning enterprise as a key part of the solution to poverty

6.2 Propositions for engaging the international business community: Enterprise solutions to poverty

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.

6.1 Propositions for the international development community: Enterprise solutions to poverty

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.

6.0 Propositions and conclusion: Enterprise solutions to poverty

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.

5.9 Applying lessons learned from Uganda in South Africa: Enterprise solutions to poverty

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.

5.8 So far so good in Uganda: Enterprise solutions to poverty

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.

5.7 Meeting the needs of the entrepreneur: Enterprise solutions to poverty

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.

5.6 Deciding on the right approach: Enterprise solutions to poverty

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:

5.5 Energy access as market failure: Enterprise solutions to poverty

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.

5.4 Case Study 4: Enterprise solutions to poverty

SME investment funds – deploying local capital and the challenge of going to scale

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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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