The Observer features stories about five SEED Winners in a special on climate change
Published: 26 May 2015
How can local communities help to save the environment and better their lives? To answer this question the Observer Tech Monthly of the Guardian spoke with Helen Marquard, Executive Director of SEED. Read more
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Green Heat, a SEED Story from Uganda
Published: 26 May 2015
Green Heat is an enterprise installing and marketing biogas digesters that convert decaying organic material from latrines and agricultural waste into biogas fuel for cooking and heating. By using biogas digesters, urban and rural households, schools, prisons, hospitals and tourist lodges in Uganda reduce their dependence on firewood and charcoal, improve their waste management systems, and help reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas emission rates related to methane release. Read more
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Trees for Global Benefit, a SEED Story from Uganda
Published: 26 May 2015
Trees for Global Benefit is a cooperative carbon offsetting scheme linking small scale landholder farmers in Uganda to the voluntary carbon market, combining carbon sequestration with rural livelihood improvements through small-scale, farmer-led, agro-/forestry projects while reducing pressure on natural resources in national parks and forest reserves. Read more
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Green Bio Energy, a SEED Story from Uganda
Published: 26 May 2015
Green Bio Energy is a social enterprise, which offers low-income Ugandan families access to cost-saving, eco-friendly and safe energy solutions. They produce and sell Briketi Charcoal Briquettes, as well as an own brand of energy-efficient stoves, Briketi Eco Stoves. The enterprise also provides individuals and organizations with trainings on micro-enterprise management or briquettes production, and sells equipments for small-scale briquettes production. Read more
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Greening South Africa’s economy: improved business development support for social and environmental enterprises
Published: 06 May 2015 Julia Rohe-Frydrych, Rest Kanju
According to World Bank, South Africa ranks as an upper-middle income economy, representing the second-largest economy in Africa. While disposing of an abundant supply of natural resources and a modern infrastructure, unemployment, poverty, and inequality remain a challenge. Read more
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Ten years of SEED Awards (2005-2015): A rich experience in promoting entrepreneurship for sustainable development
Published: 20 April 2015 Anais Mangin, Helen Marquard
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Green and social entrepreneurship; a pathway to sustainable water management?
Published: 22 March 2015 Amélie Heuër, Carolin Ehrensperger
This year, World Water Day* emphasises the crucial relationship between water and sustainable development. Indeed we all know that water is fundamental to our well-being and when we think of water, the first thoughts that often spring to mind are access to drinking water or water for food production. Read more
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SEED Awards 2015 - Apply by 31 March 2015!
Published: 06 February 2015
In 2015 SEED will make available up to 31 SEED Awards, for which SEED has received support from the European Union, the Government of Flanders, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the international law firm Hogan Lovells. Additional support is provided by the Government of the Netherlands and other SEED Partners. Read more
Why the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs supported SEED since its inception in 2002
Published: 29 January 2015 Amélie Heuër, Christopher Whaley
The UK has been a strong supporter of SEED since it was established in 2002. It has been a real pleasure to see SEED grow from a small biennial awards scheme, with a modest research programme, to a much broader global initiative promoting social and environmental entrepreneurship. Read more
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Small meets big: How partnering with large corporations can scale impact of sustainable entrepreneurs
Published: 23 December 2014 Anais Mangin, Helen Marquard
Are locally-driven social and environmental enterprises too small to have an impact? We at SEED don’t think so, and Organic Africa demonstrates that. In 2007, when everyone was leaving Zimbabwe due to political and economic turmoil, Dominikus Collenberg started to train smallholders in the organic production of herbs, spices and oils. Read more
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SEED Annual Report 2014
Published: 17 December 2014 Amélie Heuër, Anais Mangin, Helen Marquard, Jona Liebl, Mirko Zürker, Rainer Agster
2014 was truly exceptional; a year where SEED recognised over forty new SEED Winners - remarkable enterprises that generate grassroots eco-solutions at the grassroots. This and more great SEED achievements in our annual report. Read more
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Pathways to a greener economy: why mountain farming should not be overlooked
Published: 11 December 2014 Jona Liebl, Magdalena Kloibhofer
Today is International Mountain Day. Are you wondering what this is all about? We did too when we first heard of it. Read more
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World AIDS Day 2014: SEED Winners provide opportunities for affected women
Published: 01 December 2014
SMMEs like the SEED Winner from Rwanda have and continue to make their own valuable contributions to Closing the Gap by creating economic opportunities for HIV-infected as well as affected women and their families. Read more
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SEED South Africa Symposium 2014: Advancing the Green Economy
Published: 07 November 2014
At the SEED South Africa Symposium, held over 19 and 20 March 2014, over 150 participants from government, private sector, media, academia, development, and civil society organisations, and including around 40 entrepreneurs, gathered at the CSIR in Pretoria to exchange experience, knowledge and perspectives that could advance the growth of socio-environmental entrepreneurship in South Africa. Read more
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Social and Green Enterprises – How to Create Enabling Frameworks to Increase their Contribution to Sustainable Development?
Published: 04 November 2014 Amélie Heuër
Over the last four years, SEED has hosted a series of unique multi-stakeholder for a focussed on the Green Economy and Africa - the SEED Symposia - where each year innovative and promising start-up enterprises, that won a SEED Award for their remarkable efforts to address social and environmental challenges at the grassroots, are presented. Read more
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Promoting entrepreneurship for sustainable development: why, and how?
Published: 23 October 2014 Helen Marquard
When UNEP, UNDP and IUCN decided to register the SEED Initiative as a Type II partnership at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, they clearly thought they were on to something – but possibly not quite what SEED is now. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Appropriate Energy-saving Technologies Ltd.
Published: 05 September 2014
The enterprise sells and distributes biomass charcoal briquettes and cook stoves in Teso region, Uganda. Formed to help address local deforestation and environmental degradation, the staff put emphasis on partnering with local groups to provide the region with clean, sustainable cooking fuel. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: BUWOBE
Published: 05 September 2014
BUWOBE is a co-operative beekeeping enterprise producing honey and beeswax products. In mobilising women in the Masindi region to become beekeepers, the enterprise uses the honey business as a vehicle for community development, including promotion of sustainable land use and climate change adaptation. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Green Bio Energy
Published: 05 September 2014
Green Bio Energy (GBE) offers low-income Ugandan families cost-saving, safe and environmentally-friendly energy solutions including energy-efficient cookstoves and eco-friendly charcoal briquettes. The enterprise’s Briketi Charcoal Briquettes and Eco Stoves replace inefficient products that contribute to deforestation. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: The Mobile Solar Computer Classroom
Published: 05 September 2014
Mobile Solar Computer Classroom is helping to bridge the digital divide in Uganda by making computer skills accessible, affordable and relevant to rural schools and community libraries in Uganda. The enterprise uses solar-powered computers to bring its technology to its trainees Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Kumudzi Kuwale
Published: 31 August 2014
Kumudzi Kuwale Ltd. supplies sustainable energy independent from the national power grid. Rural communities thus gain access to energy through solar devices and systems installed by the enterprise, by renting battery packs or by purchasing solar products and efficient cookstoves. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Recycling for Environmental Recovery
Published: 31 August 2014
The enterprise will establish a plastics recycling plant to produce secondary raw materials for the plastics industry in Morocco and abroad. It seeks to improve health and safety for waste workers, particularly those involved in waste collection. Read more
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The circular economy and opportunities for small businesses
Published: 28 August 2014 Anais Mangin, Francesca Culcasi
Current ways of production and consumption are not sustainable, disregarding the efficient use of natural resources, the minimization of toxic materials and the emission of waste. Read more
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Early stage impact investing: a call for action
Published: 18 August 2014 Anais Mangin
The exponential growth of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in Africa, Asia and Latin America has contributed significantly to the burgeoning green economy. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Mozambikes
Published: 06 July 2014
Mozambikes assembles and sells quality bikes at affordable prices. It customises bikes with logos and colours and encourages companies and non-profit organisations to buy advertising space or branded bikes outright and distribute them to rural areas. Read more
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