Youth Entrepreneurship

SEED-supported eco-inclusive enterprises incorporate youth into their value chains and actively promote youth entrepreneurship through their business models, products and services.

Looking Beyond the Known: Changing Mindsets through Design-Led Entrepreneurial Solutions

Published: 31 October 2019Authors: Maggie Sloan
Ms Kasturi, Founder of Daily Dump (SEED Low Carbon Award Winner 2018), was welcomed as keynote speaker during the BEYOND THE KNOWN: Practitioners’ Exchange to Discover New Ways to Promote Entrepreneurship & Support MSME Development from 15-16th October at the GIZ Representation in Berlin. Read more
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Meet the SEED Awards 2019 Winners & Finalists

Published: 24 October 2019
Tackling poverty and climate change, generating employment opportunities and contributing to economic development, this year’s 14 SEED Award winners were selected from over nine hundred applicants and were recognised for solutions to major local and global challenges. Read more
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The SEED Awards 2019 highlight the contribution of green and social enterprises to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals

Published: 24 October 2019
Lilongwe, Malawi, Berlin, Germany, 24 October 2019 - Tackling poverty and climate change, generating employment opportunities and contributing to economic development, this year’s 14 SEED Award winners were selected from over 900 applicants and were recognised for solutions to major local and global challenges. Read more
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Cooperative-to-Cooperative Platform: Expanding networks for community-led business development | Policy, Malawi 2019

Published: 21 October 2019Authors: Alina Weiss, Maggie Sloan, Marlena Kiefl
The cooperative-to-cooperative platform for climate-smart agriculture is a digital platform offering combined performance indexing, knowledge sharing, and matchmaking between cooperative unions and cooperatives across Malawi. The platform supports the further coordination of cooperatives and public sector initiatives in Malawi. Read more
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BDS+ Training of Trainers: Special Focus

Published: 11 September 2019Authors: Linde Wolters, Sonya Ong
BDS providers offer valuable support for SMEs, often behind the scenes. In this five-part special focus blog series, we caught up with a number of BDS providers from Ghana, Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Uganda. Read more
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Services SETA ECDi shares outcomes of BDS Standard presentation

Authors: Source: Services SETA ECDi
Dr Tsiliso Tamasane – Services SETA and Mr Div de Villiers – SEED SA, presented the draft Discussion Paper on “Improving the Quality of Business Advisory Services (BAS) in South Africa” at the Annual SEED South Africa Symposium on 03 April 2019. The Discussion Paper was jointly issued by the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), SEDA, SEED and the Services SETA ECDi. Read more
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ASA-fellow shares first highlights from supporting SEED in Malawi

Published: 25 October 2018Authors: Insa Jülich, Maggie Sloan
ASA-fellow Insa Jülich shares her experiences supporting SEED in Malawi. Read more

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: Khainza Energy Limited

Published: 05 July 2018
Khainza Energy produces high-quality methane from organic waste obtained from farms and households and distributes it in affordable, recyclable cylinders along with cooking appliances. Khainza Energy incorporates local women, farmers, and youth along its distribution channels, creating value for consumers as well as local communities. 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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YICE, a SEED Story from Uganda

Published: 22 March 2018
YICE Uganda provides rural smallholder farmers in Uganda with flexible farm loans, inputs and training services to reduce hunger and poverty. With its network of local farm agents, YICE facilitates farmers’ access to bundled agricultural services at various levels of the farming value chain. The enterprise has won a SAG-SEED Award in 2016. Read more
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SEED South Africa Symposium 2018

Published: 19 March 2018
180 participants gathered at the annual SEED South Africa Symposium this year held on March 13-14 in Pretoria. Read more
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SEED Burkina Faso Dialogue Forum 2017

Published: 04 October 2017
The SEED Dialogue Forum in Burkina Faso was held on 20 September 2017 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The event was organized by SEED and its local partners, Fondation Afrik Eveil and La Fabrique, which promote eco-inclusive enterprises by providing necessary services. 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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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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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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Toolification: My personal journey in shaping the way we do business support at SEED

Published: 24 July 2017Authors: Mirko Zürker
My journey with SEED and providing one-on-one business support for eco-inclusive enterprises started in 2009. 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: Lagazel

Published: 12 June 2017
Lagazel produces and markets sustainable solar lamps to light urban and rural households without access to electricity. The local production generates employment and compared to conventional light sources, the use of solar lamps contributes to climate change mitigation and healthier living conditions. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Umgibe Farming Organics and Training Institute

Published: 12 June 2017
Umgibe Farming Organics and Training Institute supports local farming co-operatives with access to technology, training and markets. The enterprise capacitates urban and small-scale farmers to graduate into commercial business units using Umgibe’s cost-effective and sustainable growing system. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: WASHKing

Published: 12 June 2017
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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SEED East Africa Symposium 2017

Published: 01 June 2017
The SEED East Africa Symposium 2017 was held on September 5th in Kampala. Read more
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SEED South Africa Symposium 2017

Published: 05 May 2017
The SEED South Africa Symposium 2017 was held on April 19-20th in Pretoria. Read more

The Landscape of Eco-inclusive Entrepreneurship in Malawi, Mozambique and Namibia: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities

Published: 01 March 2017Authors: Gabrielle Habberton, Mandisa Banjwa, Monique Davidson
One of the SEED focus areas for 2016 includes eco-inclusive entrepreneurship in Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia. Eco-inclusive entrepreneurship is an important market-based solution for economies transitioning to sustainable growth trajectories while providing essential services for the marginalised populations of these emerging economies. This report is part of an effort to support the sector through improved research, building the track record for eco-inclusive enterprises and highlighting their ‘triple bottom line’ impact and contribution towards green growth. Read more
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