SEED Winners expanding access to electricity in Uganda
Published: 28 June 2016
Green Heat Ltd, a 2014 SEED Low Carbon Award Winner, and GRS Commodities Ltd, a 2013 SEED Africa Award Winner, were both winning recipients in the recent Off-Grid Energy Challenge hosted by the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) in Uganda in February. These two enterprises improve access to electricity in off-grid areas of Uganda with renewable energies as the solution. Read more
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Agriculture: Re-thinking an old industry
Published: 16 June 2016 Carolin Ehrensperger
Agriculture still plays an essential role in the economy, and particular for employment on the African continent. Mozambique is no exception. In 2011, the agricultural sector contributed to almost one-third of the country’s GDP and provided a living for 80% of the working population. Read more
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From Innovation to Imitation: Register now for the 2016 SEED Africa Symposium
Published: 25 May 2016
Registrations are now open for the 2016 SEED Africa Symposium. The Symposium is an annual multi-stakeholder forum for mutual exchange of knowledge and experiences. It will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, on 28-29 September. Read more
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Women-to-women energy networks: essential piece of the puzzle for SE4All
Published: 04 May 2016 Amélie Heuër
Over the last three days, I’ve had the pleasure of attending the 2016 International Tech4Dev Conference, which focussed on innovation to achieve social impact. Read more
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From trash to cash: How to turn waste back into a valuable resource
Published: 09 March 2016 Carolin Ehrensperger
Worldwide heaps of waste are expected to double by 2015 according to the World Bank. The majority of it is burned, dumped into landfills or ends up in our oceans. The small minority of the waste we are producing is taken for what it really is: an important resource. Read more
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9 SEED winners ready to raise funds at Pretoria Investor Forum
Published: 03 March 2016
SEED and the Inclusive Business Accelerator have launched Deal Ready Programme to support selected SEED winners in the capturing of investment finance. Read more
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Social Enterprise in Latin America - A frontier market on the cusp of going mainstream
Published: 24 February 2016 Allison Robertshaw
Last week I had the pleasure of attending New Ventures’ Foro Latinoamericano de Inversion Impacto in Merida, Mexico. It was an inspiring few days unpicking the latest developments in social entrepreneurship in the region and proved an interesting opportunity to compare to recent developments in Africa where I attended SEED’s African Symposium just a few months ago. Read more
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Changing the paradigm of childcare and income generation in Nairobi’s slums
Published: 04 February 2016 Marion Müller vom Berge
Every child in the world has the right to access high-quality early childhood care and education, and every woman deserves the opportunity to participate in the workforce and generate income, free of concern that their child may not be cared for properly. Read more
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Call for Applications for the 2016 SEED Awards
Jona Liebl Source: UN Environment
Start-up enterprises that solve pressing local issues by integrating social and environmental benefits into their business models can apply for the 2016 SEED Awards, which opened for nominations today. Read more
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SEED Awards 2016 - Apply by 31 March 2016!
Published: 26 January 2016
SEED has opened the Call for Applications for the 2016 Switch Africa Green-SEED Awards, SEED Africa Awards and SEED Gender Equality Awards. Read more
Tools, Tools, Tools – the SEED Training of Trainers (TOT) in South Africa created a sound support base for green, inclusive SMEs
Published: 18 December 2015 Jana Rudnik, Magdalena Kloibhofer
As part of its extensive programme that has been built around an annual awards scheme promoting social and environmental entrepreneurship in developing countries, SEED developed a unique toolkit that addresses these key issues and lays out guidelines how to strategically integrate the imperatives of sustainability into businesses. Read more
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SEED Africa Symposium 2015
Published: 09 November 2015
More than 500 entrepreneurs, researchers, policy makers and representatives of the civil society from 30 countries joined the SEED Africa Symposium on September 9-10th, 2015, in Nairobi, Kenya. Read more
BanaPads, a SEED Story from Uganda
Published: 04 November 2015
BanaPads Social Enterprise produces comfortable sanitary pads from natural agricultural waste materials. They are low-cost, 100% biodegradable, safe and hygienic, and made locally, following international standards. The objective of this enterprise is to reduce absenteeism of schoolgirls in rural and poor communities while creating a women’s entrepreneur network through which the pads are distributed and sustainable independent micro-businesses are established. Read more
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Turning coffee into a profitable business for smallholders: Critical Success Factors for 2009 SEED Winner Kolcafé
Published: 27 October 2015 Jamie Kyles
Coffee has been the backbone of the agriculture-based economy of Tanzania for the last 100 years providing employment for an estimated 2 million people directly or indirectly, according to the Tanzania Coffee Research Institute (TaCRI). However, low productivity is making it difficult for farmers to retain their livelihoods. Read more
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SEED Africa Symposium 2015: Building Bridges for Impact
Published: 19 October 2015
Building Bridges for Impact was the goal of the 2015 Africa Symposium. More than 500 entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, practitioners and policy makers examined emerging trends in the green and entrepreneurship space and looked into ways of constructing new bridges to amplify the impact of social and eco-enterprises. Special attention was also given to the role of eco-entrepreneurship in the Post-2015 agenda. Read more
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Boosting support for social and environmental entrepreneurship in Namibia
Published: 15 October 2015 Julia Rohe-Frydrych
Small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) contribute an estimated 12 per cent towards Namibia’s gross domestic product and employ about 20 per cent of the country’s workforce. Read more
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Setting the Stage for Green & Inclusive Growth through Entrepreneurship
Published: 02 October 2015 Carolin Ehrensperger, Jana Rudnik
"Where many conventional start-up enterprises fail after only two years, more than three out of four SEED Winners have not, that is the major outcome of this flagship report“, Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP Deputy Executive Director and UN Assistant-Secretary-General. Read more
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Celebrating 10 Years of SEED Awards (2005-2015)
Published: 22 September 2015
Ten years ago, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in New York, 5 enterprises received the first SEED Awards. They were chosen, from a pool of over 260 entries from 66 countries, for their potential to advance sustainable development in their communities and contribute to the UN's Millennium Development Goals. Read more
SEED Special Recognition Award goes to Tambul Leaf Plates
Published: 10 September 2015
Chosen in an online vote with more than 5,500 participants 2013 SEED Low Carbon Winner Tambul Leaf Plates from India was chosen as the winner of the SEED Special Recognition Award. Read more
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Plates from Fallen Leaves, Bricks from Plastic Waste and Sight Saving Mobile Apps – Green Innovation Highlighted at 2015 SEED Awards
Published: 09 September 2015
27 eco-inclusive enterprises are recognized at the 2015 SEED Africa Symposium. Read more
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Case Study: Provokame
Published: 07 September 2015
Provokame produces biodegradable plates out of natural fibre and seeds and recycles paper; this reduces pollution from polymer plates and decreases greenhouse gas emissions. Read more
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Case Study: Dichung
Published: 07 September 2015
Dichung reduces urban traffic congestion, fuel consumption and in turn GHG emissions by providing ride-sharing opportunities for city residents. Read more
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Case Study: Watamu Community Solid Waste Management and Recycling Enterprises
Published: 07 September 2015
Watamu Solid Waste Management and Recycling helps conserve coastal and marine biodiversity by recycling plastic and glass waste. Read more
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Case Study: Muliru Farmers
Published: 07 September 2015
Muliru Farmers establishes sustainably-farmed supplies of medicinal plants and raises awareness about forest management which reduces the pressure on Kenya’s last remaining rainforest. Read more
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Case Study: Claire Reid Reel Gardening
Published: 07 September 2015
Reel Gardening addresses food insecurity among low-income household and children by offering bio-degradable paper strips embedded with organic seeds that can be used by all to produce a wide range vegetables and herbs. Read more
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