Shell Tameer provides entrepreneurial boost for Shell’s value chain

Launched in September 2016, Shell Tameer Platinum, is a collaboration with Shell’s Lubricants business and technical and vocational institutes; SoS Technical Training Institute and The Hunar Foundation. The aim of the pilot is to equip young automotive entrepreneurs with the technical knowledge and skills to enable them to align their businesses to opportunities within Shell Lubes' supply chain.

Already, 16 young motorcycle and car mechanics have successfully started oil change businesses within Shell Lubes’ value chain, and six of these start-ups have sold over 300 litres of Shell Advance Oil, enabling Shell Lubes to enter previously untapped markets in remote areas of Karachi.

During its pilot phase, Shell Tameer Platinum provided automotive entrepreneurs with a range of business development and technical services including:

• 30 hours of exclusive training focused on enterprise development, including an insight into business opportunities within Shell Lubes’ value chain. Shell also provided participants with: essential technical product knowledge; sales and distribution training; and, HSSE awareness.
• The opportunity for participants to pitch their business plans to a panel of business and technical experts to receive seed funding.
• Successful candidates received grants in the form of tools and equipment, and were linked to Shell’s distribution network to procure lubricant products.
• Grantees also received mentoring and advice from local sales staff of Shell’s distributor.

The pilot phase of Shell Tameer Platinum has been developed specifically to meet the needs of Shell Lubes, and, moving forward, key elements of the programme may vary according to the requirements of various Shell businesses.

Shell Tameer Platinum aims to build a talent pipeline of vendors and indirect suppliers, some of whom might not work directly with Shell, but will promote Shell products and services, and act as brand ambassadors for Shell.

The programme provides a clear win-win for both Shell and the entrepreneurs, with the entrepreneurs enabling Shell to reach new markets and Shell providing them with the technical skills and knowledge that gives their businesses a competitive advantage.

One of the entrepreneurs to have benefited from Shell Tameer Platinum is Tajudin, whose business, Tajudin Autos, is a motorcycle service and repair shop. Prior to starting in the motorcycle sector, Tajudin worked in a clothing factory for over 14 years. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities for career advancement, he enrolled on a motorcycle mechanics course with the SoS Technical Training Institute. During his studies, he received an opportunity to benefit from Shell Tameer Platinum, and after successfully completing the training, Tajudin received seed capital in the form of Lubes inventory to enable him to expand his motorcycle mechanic workshop into a Lube oil change facility. Tajudin has been connected with the local Shell Lubes distributor and to date has sold over 100 litres of Shell Advance motorcycle oil.

Delighted by the unique opportunity provided by his involvement in Shell Tameer Platinum, Tajudin said, “I was deeply inspired by the Shell Tameer Platinum programme. It’s given me great hope and encouragement to strive harder and uplift my life to provide a brighter future for my family.”

Commenting on the impact of Shell Tameer Platinum, Behzad Khan, Social Investment Lead for Shell Pakistan Limited and Programme Manager for Shell Tameer, said, “With the pilot launch of Shell Tameer Platinum we hope to develop a talent pipeline of skilled entrepreneurs who are aligned with Shell’s value chain.

“Through this programme we aim to create a win-win situation for the entrepreneurs and for Shell, as these skilled entrepreneurs will learn from Shell’s best practices and add value to an existing business to help improve business performance.”

An additional focus for Shell Tameer during 2017 is supporting and developing energy start-ups that are providing access to energy. Shell Tameer is implementing a more structured approach to attract entrepreneurial talent around Shell’s global vision of a clean energy future. Already the recent Shell Tameer Awards introduced a new ‘Bright Energy Ideas’ category to attract innovative ideas and businesses that: transform sustainable energy solutions to reality; enable the development of more and cleaner energy solutions; or, help increase access to energy for more people.

Shell Tameer is planning to engage with key players in the access to energy space, including energy incubators, engineering universities and the programme’s partners, to nurture energy entrepreneurs.

Explaining the importance of Access to Energy within the Shell Tameer programme, Behzad Khan said, “Global demand for energy is increasing rapidly due to population and economic growth. We are proud to see how Shell Tameer energy entrepreneurs like Sanwal Muneer of Capture Mobility are contributing to a cleaner and greener energy future globally.

“Through Shell Tameer’s Access to Energy focus, we hope to inspire and nurture more energy innovators.”

Launched in 2003, Shell Tameer has reached out to 800,000 young people. It has delivered enterprise training to 12,000 young people, resulting in 1,000 business start-ups or expansions. In addition, 61 entrepreneurs have been recognised through Shell Tameer’s prestigious biennial business awards programme.