People & Communities

Energy plays a critical role in enabling economic and social development and improving the livelihoods of people across the world. It provides light to read, work and study, fuel for cooking and heating, enables the refrigeration and storage of medicines and food, and is essential to almost all modern communication and commerce.

The sad reality is that South Africa still has several people without access to electricity. In South Africa, there are over a million households still using biomass (plant-based material used as fuel to produce heat or electricity. e.g., wood) for cooking, and other households using candles and kerosene for lighting. All people of South Africa have a right to affordable, low carbon electricity.

Since 2022, Shell South Africa has invested over R10 million towards the installation of close to 300 solar home systems, bringing energy into homes for the first time. Each solar home system allows for phone charging, connecting of a fridge, fan, computer/laptop, radio, TV, and lights.

For more than 100 years, Shell has helped to meet the world’s increasing demand for energy. We have learned however that producing and providing energy does not necessarily result in universal access to all. We must always look for opportunities to enable access to energy through different lenses – especially to citizens of South Africa.

As Shell South Africa and aligned to our Nation Building ambition, we continue to strive to achieve the true spirit of transformation in a sustainable way by playing our part in reducing poverty, unemployment, and inequality.

South Africa is a country with a rich and diverse heritage, but like any other nation, we face our own challenges. One of the most pressing issues is the state of education, particularly in the foundational phase of learning. It is a sad truth that approximately 81% of grade 4 learners in South Africa cannot read for comprehension. At Shell, we are committed to playing a part in addressing the issues that face the future leaders of this country. We have partnered with Rally to Read, an organisation dedicated to promoting literacy. Through this partnership, we launched a three-year literacy program in four primary schools, namely, Siphendule Primary School, Nelson Ngubane Primary School, Besilindile Primary School, and Kwaguqa Primary School which are in the Emalahleni area in Mpumalanga, South Africa. 

We have partnered with Impala Bafokeng Mine to support small-scale subsistence farmers in Rustenburg, North West. This initiative is part of the Impala Bafokeng Portable Skills and Crop Framing programme run by Thojane Organic Farming.

This partnership illustrates our commitment to powering lives and making a positive contribution to the people and communities we operate in. The programme equips graduates with critical skills to thrive in the agricultural industry. In addition to growing their knowledge of farming, 26 graduates now have the essential tools they need to grow their own crop. The aim of this project is for the farmers to produce enough vegetables to feed their families and have enough left over to sell for an income. Farming for personal use is very important in South Africa as it helps people make a living and reduces poverty.

The heavy rain and floods that took place in KwaZulu Natal (KZN), South Africa in the early part of 2022 had a severe impact om roads and infrastructure. Through Gift of the Givers, Shell South Africa donated funds that went towards restoring Nondenisa Secondary School located in KZN to what both the teachers and learners knew and loved. This included repairs to the roofing, flooring, windows, ceiling and painting of the affected school buildings. We spent close to R3 million in refurbishing the school. 

In July 2023, we launched the first Shell Lubricants warehouse in the Western Cape. The warehouse is called Alkebulan Logistics and is owned by a former employee Morgan Naidoo. As a business, one of our endeavours is to empower minds, grow our own wherever possible, and contribute towards building our nation.

We embarked on an extensive internal search to find the first Shell South Africa employee/s to partner with our Lubricants business through Enterprise Supplier Development (ESD). As Shell South Africa, this was a key opportunity for us to enhance Broad Economic participation, which is fundamental to our Nation Building ambition. Morgan received enterprise and supplier development support valued at R500 000 between July 2022 and February 2023 to form his business, Alkebulan, and received R3 million in funding of which 40% was given as a grant.