Water, Sanitation & Health (WASH)

Safe water and adequate sanitation for all are central to public health, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability. SEED-supported enterprises in the water, sanitation and health (WASH) sector designed products and services that support healthy and sustainable livelihoods through improved water security and greater access to adequate sanitation facilities. Exemplary enterprises in the sector offer biodegradable female sanitary products, hygienic toilet systems that convert waste to energy, community-owned water networks capitalising on local partnerships and more.

Case Study: WASHKing

Published: 07 September 2018
The eco-inclusive enterprise WASHKing aims to eradicate open defecation and poor sanitation in low-income urban communities in Ghana. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: EcoAct Tanzania

Published: 20 August 2018
EcoAct Tanzania uses energy efficient & environmentally friendly plastic extrusion to upcycle plastic waste into durable & affordable plastic timbers for construction. The enterprise mitigates climate change not only by reducing plastic pollution, but also by reducing wood dependence and deforestation. Read more
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Seizing opportunities of eco-inclusive enterprises for a green and inclusive waste sector in South Africa

Published: 25 July 2018Authors: Christine Meyer, Insa Jülich
Do you recycle? – Good. But do you know what happens to your waste when it has been collected? Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Daily Dump

Published: 04 July 2018
Daily Dump is a brand, a service and a set of products and stories of new habits that enable urban households, communities, and businesses to segregate and compost their waste, and to become more conscious & responsible for resource consumption and disposal in a decentralised manner. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Corporación Acción Semilla

Published: 04 July 2018
Corporación Acción Semilla collects organic waste from its foodservice industry and landscaping services clients and converts this waste into a fertilizer for agricultural activities at local, smallholder farms. The enterprise charges clients a fee for its services and earns profits from the sale of crops and compost. Read more
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Beating plastic pollution with business innovation on World Environment Day 2018

Published: 04 June 2018Authors: Maggie Sloan, Sonya Ong
At SEED, we celebrate and support innovative enterprises around the globe who integrate social and environmental objectives into their business models. On World Environment Day, we would like to give a shout out to enterprises who #BeatPlasticPollution everyday through their innovative products and eco-inclusive value chains. Read more
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WASHKing, a SEED Story from Ghana

Published: 04 April 2018
WASHKing produces, supplies and installs biodigester toilets out of eco-friendly material for low-income urban households in order to improve health and economic conditions and to keep the environment clean. Training on using the toilet and after-sales services complement the package. Read more
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Celebrating Female Entrepreneurship on International Women’s Day 2018

Published: 08 March 2018Authors: Amar Munnolimath, Zaina Batool
At SEED, we embrace the potential of female entrepreneurs and are committed to empowering women. We not only offer equal-opportunity employment and encourage flexible working arrangements to assist families, but also take data-driven action globally to support women entrepreneurs working towards a greener economy and to accelerate female empowerment, including through our past SEED Gender Equality Award scheme. Read more
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South Africa celebrates inauguration of the first SEED office on the African continent

Published: 30 January 2018
In 2010 SEED established its first pilot country scheme in South Africa, which fell under a larger, substantially EU funded, focus of SEED on Africa. Read more
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SEED shares insights at Eco MedaGreen Summit 2017 in Barcelona

Published: 11 December 2017
SEED was invited to participate in the Mediterranean Cities Economic Forum to share lessons learnt from its SWITCH-Africa Green project “Promoting Eco-Entrepreneurship in Africa” during a session on “Waste Management and Recycling in the Realm of Circular Economy”. Read more
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SEED Award Winners attend the UN Environmental Assembly 2017 Sustainable Innovation Expo

Published: 07 December 2017
SEED Award Winners Muliru Farmers, City Waste Recycling, Dagoretti, and Ecopost attended the UN Environment Assembly on 4-6 December 2017. Read more
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Transform, Innovate, GoSustainable

Published: 28 November 2017Authors: Julia Rohe-Frydrych, Regina Treutwein
Coming up with new ideas is essential for the success of a business. Innovative enterprises are pro-active in solving problems, for instance, in reaching new customers or to refining their value proposition. An often unexplored opportunity for innovation is to integrate social and environmental dimensions into a company's business model.

  Read more
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Call for Applications: Replicator Connect Workshops in Ghana, Mauritius (Rodrigues) and South Africa

Published: 22 September 2017
SEED, SWITCH-Africa Green and the Government of Flanders are pleased to receive applications for our upcoming (SAG-) SEED Replicator Connect Workshops in Tamale, Port Mathurin and Cape Town. Read more
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The 4 types of people who can help you grow your business using the SEED Relationship Mapping tool

Published: 18 September 2017Authors: Kay Eunkyung Kang, Sonya Ong
Growing a business can be a tricky and intimidating process. Business owners are overwhelmed with different aspects to focus on. Should we invest in better customer experience, partnerships, staff wellbeing, or procuring more equipment? Read more
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A perfect match: How replication partnerships can effectively meet local challenges

Published: 25 August 2017Authors: Benita Rose, Christine Meyer
Within the last couple of months, we have facilitated over 15 Replicator Connect Workshops in Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Ghana. Time to pause, reflect what replication can achieve and take a closer look at our matches. Read more
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SEED side-event at UN High-Level Political Forum 2017

Published: 10 August 2017Authors: Arab Hoballah
The HLPF 2017 SEED side event on Innovative and Eco-Inclusive Entrepreneurship showcased the role of SMEs in achieving SDGs and was held on 13 July 2017 at the UN Headquarters, New York. Read more
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Eco-inclusive enterprises lead the way to West Africa’s sustainable growth - 2017 SEED West Africa Symposium

Published: 28 July 2017
SEED West Africa Symposium 2017 was attended by more than 150 key stakeholders from government, enterprises, financial institutions, policy makers and accelerator programmes from Ghana and Burkina Faso. Read more
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SEED West Africa Symposium 2017

Published: 28 July 2017
More than 150 key stakeholders from government, enterprises, financial institutions, the policy level and accelerator programmes from Ghana and Burkina Faso came together to discuss and develop innovative approaches and explore partnerships essential to the replication of business models in order to successfully contribute to inclusive green economy and sustainable development in West Africa. Read more
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Meet the 2017 SWITCH Africa Green-SEED Award Winners

Published: 13 July 2017
The 15 winners of this year’s SWITCH Africa Green -SEED Awards were  announced during the UN High Level Political Forum 2017 in New York. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Brent Technologies

Published: 12 June 2017
Brent Technologies uses an innovative, low-cost technology (S-TECH) to transform waste motor oil into fresh motor oil, diesel fuel and roofing asphalt shingles. This overcomes shortages of motor oil and diesel fuel and increases transportation to areas that have limited access to basic necessities. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Coopérative Sahel Vert

Published: 12 June 2017
Coopérative Sahel Vert encourages the generation and use of clean biogas and organic fertiliser by constructing and
maintaining biodigesters in rural areas. Besides the various positive environmental impacts, the sale of surplus agricultural production and organic fertilisers offers households additional income opportunities. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: iThemba Phakama

Published: 12 June 2017
iThemba Phakama is a voluntary association of informal waste pickers providing tricycles and safety gear to its members. The tricycles are used as an alternative to stolen shopping trolleys that many in the informal waste picking sector use illegally. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Kencoco Limited

Published: 12 June 2017
Kencoco produces and sells charcoal dust and charcoal briquettes from recycled agricultural coconut waste and resells clean cookstoves. The products are a viable low-cost alternative to environmentally damaging fuels such as firewood, kerosene and wood charcoal. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Masupa Enterprises

Published: 12 June 2017
Masupa Enterprises offers cheap and environmentally friendly cooking solutions to both urban and rural communities. Its briquettes are made from waste such as dry leaves, paper, peels and other fruit and vegetable waste and are sold together with cookstoves to households and commercial customers. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: RECFAM - PRIDE Pads

Published: 12 June 2017
RECFAM produces organic and biodegradable sanitary pads – PRIDE Pads – out of banana and plantain fibre for schoolgirls and women. Women are integrated into the whole value chain, receiving training and income opportunities. Read more
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