SEED organised and hosted the webinar "From Impact to Scale: Challenges & Successes Leading the Way to an Eco-Inclusive SME Action Agenda"
Published: 24 May 2022
On May 19, more than 130 participants from different parts of the world, from Africa to Asia, joined the virtual event that kicked off this year’s SEED 20 Years campaign. During the event, speakers shared the successes and learnings of the past 20 years working with or as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and looked forward to new ones together. Read more
Join our Webinar "From Impact to Scale: Challenges & Successes Leading the Way to an Eco-Inclusive SME Action Agenda"
Published: 11 May 2022
For SEED's 20th anniversary, we want to have a look together at achievements, emerging needs, gaps, barriers for the promotion of green, resource efficient and responsible eco-inclusive businesses in #SEED20Years period as well as looking forward to replicating success stories, further inducing innovations and scaling up for long lasting transformative impacts. Read more
SEED and SMEs: Celebrating 20 years of promoting a sustainable future together
Published: 28 April 2022
Twenty years ago, SEED was launched by UNEP, UNDP and IUCN at the World Sustainable Development Summit in Johannesburg with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship for sustainable development. Over the years, SEED has demonstrated, through numerous success stories from enterprises, that it makes good environmental, social, and economic sense to consider, support and enable SMEs to thrive. Read more
SEED Female Entrepreneurship Month
Published: 08 March 2022
SEED's Female Entrepreneurship Month aims to recognise the women who are working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. SukkhaCitta, Like Mountains, Womenergy265 and Amaati Group are great examples of this. Read more
SDGs:
The Green Recovery Forum: Leveraging the contributions of MSMEs to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
Published: 07 March 2022 Mirko Zürker, Net Pornlumon Nirachatsuwan, Supapim Wannopas
The Green Recovery Forum: Leveraging the contributions of MSMEs to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is a collaborative partnership between SEI, SEED, ANDE, and partners. The Forum highlights MSMEs potential and contribution to the Green Recovery, their need for support to build back economically while emphasising the MSMEs’ green and socially-inclusive approach in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Read more
SDGs:
Effective implementation of circular economies
Published: 03 March 2021 Camilla Shearman, Sonya Ong
At the 2020 SEED Practitioner Labs for Policy Prototyping (PLPP) in Ghana and Thailand, multi-stakeholder groups designed support mechanisms to leverage the participation of socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable MSMEs in the circular economy. We provide recommendations based on the solutions developed to guide future circular economy policy implementation. Read more
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SEED during COVID-19: Our programmes reimagined for the virtual format
Published: 16 December 2020 Amanda Panella, Linde Wolters
When COVID-19 hit, SEED and its supported enterprises were affected like the rest of the world. Our programmes - designed for peer-learning and networking - had to quickly adjust to this new global reality and move to a virtual environment. In an effort to both support affected enterprises and be able to keep our programmes running. Read more
More Than “Donor Darlings”: Ecosystem system support for green and eco-inclusive SMEs to deliver more than narratives
Published: 10 December 2020 Ebenezer Kumi
From October—November 2020, SEED provided two 3-day eco-inclusive ToT workshops for representatives of SNV’s selected hubs, incubators and accelerators in Ashanti and Western Regions. Read more
Supporting MSMEs for Ghana’s transition to a Circular Economy: Solutions from SEED’s Policy Lab
Published: 09 December 2020 Amanda Panella, Camilla Shearman
While eco-inclusive enterprises drive the transition to a circular economy, they often face significant constraints to build and scale their businesses. Mr. Boachie highlighted that eco-inclusive MSMEs often face specific challenges based on perceived higher-than-normal risks, and a unique need for longer-term financing. Read more
Best practices to follow for online workshops: Learnings from SEED virtual trainings during pandemic times
Published: 30 November 2020 Amar Munnolimath, Elena Eckhardt, Nithin Ramu
Workshops are an important format for business development services (BDS) providers to deliver support services to eco-inclusive enterprises. However, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and related measures, such as lockdowns and curfews, BDS providers have had to adjust and reconceptualise the workshop experience. Read more
Building a Resilient Business Around Women: The story of Dagoretti
Published: 28 September 2020 Amanda Panella, Linde Wolters
Violet Matiru grew up without electricity on a farm at the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, an aspect of her life that led her to want to better the environment around her. From using kerosene lamps and lighting a fire every day with firewood for a cup of tea before school, she decided to support herself and her community by launching the Dagoretti Market Biogas Latrine. It has since moved from a core business of converting human waste from paid for latrines for market goers, to biogas to be reused for cooking and heating water, to other environmentally and socially relevant activities. Read more
SDGs:
Enterprise Resilience: Six Critical Factors to Protecting Your Start-Up’s Future
Published: 24 September 2020
To better understand what resilience means for MSMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic, SEED interviewed 30 eco-inclusive enterprises. Unsurprisingly, MSMEs have been strongly affected by the economic shock of the pandemic. From these interviews, SEED has outlined the six critical factors for protecting the future of your enterprise. Read more
An Entrepreneur’s Motivation to Move Forward
Published: 17 August 2020 Khawla Rammali, Linde Wolters
Upon reflection, Kenya based Jackline Lang'at feels she may have given up too quickly. The 2016 Award winner was piloting the construction of eco-friendly, durable roads while working with women and youth, when elections hit, cashflow stalled and dedication wavered. Now four years on, Jackline is looking back on her failure but keen to launch a new venture. We caught up with her to learn from her experience, a timely discussion in the context of the COVID-19 crisis and its risk to the survival of many small businesses. Read more
SDGs:
Status quo and future outlook: what does COVID-19 mean for BDS providers in India?
Published: 14 July 2020 Amar Munnolimath, Dr. Malini Balakrishnan, Elena Eckhardt
To assess the status quo and future outlook of what COVID-19 means for BDS providers in India, SEED India Hub invited BDS providers to take part in a virtual co-creation session. During the co-creation session that took place on 28th May 2020, BDS providers identified several challenges that both enterprises and BDS providers face due to COVID-19 and prototyped novel solutions addressing persistent challenges. Read more
SDGs:
Scaling Policy and Financial Instruments for Eco-Inclusive SME Support | SEED South Africa Symposium 2020
Published: 06 July 2020 Camilla Shearman, Maggie Sloan
On 6th May, Mr Tlou Ramaru, Chief Director of Climate Change Adaptation in the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), welcomed enterprises, financial institutions, policy-makers, donors, and business development service providers to a Pitching Session during the online SEED South Africa Symposium 2020. This Pitching Session brought together stakeholders who have been actively designing policy and financial instruments to support the start-up and scale-up of climate-smart and socially inclusive enterprises in South Africa. Read more
SDGs:
Why SMEs are essential to Uganda’s post-pandemic economic recovery
Published: 18 June 2020 Edirisa Sembatya, Lewis Akenji
The Covid-19 pandemic has jolted national governments the world over to provide emergency support to vulnerable parts of society and the economy. SEED has recently observed that many eco-inclusive MSMEs are pivoting their business models to stay relevant. However, challenges with working capital and the high cost of doing business show a need for a safety net or relief to MSMEs. Read more
Rebooting the economy during and after COVID-19 crisis by supporting eco-inclusive enterprises
Published: 28 May 2020 Ebenezer Kumi, Jonas Restle-Steinert
In many emerging countries like Ghana, reducing the impact of COVID-19 and charting the path to a regenerative economy during and after the pandemic may not lie in big financial stimulus packages for all types of businesses in general. A targeted and tailored support for eco-inclusive SMEs that are more concerned about social and environmental issues is essential. Read more
Digital Innovations: Data-Driven Eco-inclusive Enterprises
Published: 25 May 2020 Khawla Rammali, Sonya Ong
The use of and access to data allows enterprises to make better and faster decisions. Data can help reveal patterns and trends in human behaviour of relevance inside and outside the sectors enterprises operate in. Read about why ListenField embraces digital innovation and how it has helped them scale-up their impact. Read more
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BDS+ Special Focus Malawi: Three reasons to join a Training of Trainers in Malawi
Published: 22 May 2020 Lina Gutierrez, Linde Wolters
SEED quality training contributes to the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malawi. This helps increase local livelihoods in the green sector and tackles Malawi’s pressing issue of unemployment, especially among the youth population. Read more
BDS+ Special Focus Thailand: Three reasons to join a Training of Trainers in Thailand
Published: 22 May 2020 Lina Gutierrez, Linde Wolters
SEED ToTs grants business development service (BDS) advisors access to SEED tools,network and hub, helping you connect with peers, government and corporate actors, and inviting you to help build the ecosystem in the country. Read more
Adapting to business-not-as-usual during COVID-19
Published: 18 May 2020 Sonya Ong
Business was looking up for Fadzai Munyuki and her team at Kudiwa Waste & Energy Solutions earlier this year. Then operations had to stop suddenly following the orders of the Zimbabwean government, who like many others, initiated a 21 day restricted movement order as a response to the corona virus. Read more
9 Ingredients for Successful Fundraising
Published: 04 May 2020 Tione Kaonga
In addition to fundraising tips shared by SEED supported enterprises in Malawi, Tione Kaonga, BDS provider and SEED Coordinator in Malawi shares his perspectives on conducting successful fundraising for eco-inclusive SMEs. Read more
The Art of the Virtual Pitch
Published: 30 April 2020
How can you capture the attention of your audience and deliver a strong message to alight their interest? Read below for some tips and tricks! Read more
Crowdfunding Campaigns That Need Your Support During COVID-19
Published: 28 April 2020
Crowdfunding is one way businesses are staying afloat during these difficult times, to mitigate their COVID-related financial losses and hopefully bounce back stronger. Here is a list of campaigns launched by enterprises. These campaigns aim to provide financial and non-financial support to health facilities and people in vulnerable conditions. We invite you to support these if you can! Read more
SDGs:
How to Make the Most of the Lockdown Period for Your Enterprise?
Published: 21 April 2020 Kathrin Kirsch
The current global lockdown, finds many of us working from home, limiting interactions with team members, customers and partners and reducing new business opportunities. Henry Othieno, CEO of Tusafishe, shares some inspiring strategies on how Tusafishe is nonetheless making the most of the situation, and may just come out stronger from the lockdown. Read more
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