At SEED, we believe in supporting women entrepreneurs and helping them turn their business ideas into reality. So far, SEED has supported more than 426 female entrepreneurs through the SEED Starter programme.

In honour of the International Women’s Day on 8th March, we kicked-off the SEED Female Entrepreneurship Month social media campaign. We're celebrating SEED-supported enterprises that are led by women or empower women through their inspiring work.

SPOUTS of Water, ListenField, and SukkhaCitta are women-led enterprises that not only support the local communities but also benefit the environment with their innovative business models.

• SPOUTS of Water, founded by Kathy Ku, received the SEED Award in 2016. The enterprise manufactures, markets and sells affordable ceramic water filters using local materials and employing local labour in Uganda.
• ListenField, founded by Rassarin Chinnachodteeranun, received the SEED Award in 2019. The enterprise develops an AI application for climate resilience farming and a digital platform for farmers to sell their products in Thailand.
• SukkhaCitta, founded by Denica Flesch, received the SEED Award in 2021. The enterprise provides craftswomen in Indonesia with training in business skills, design and natural dyeing, and then makes their products available to customers around the world, ensuring the origin, ethical practices and sustainability with the #MadeRight transparency standard.

Aikya Organics, Kibebe, and Greenbelt Energy are great examples of enterprises that empower women and promote gender equality in their supply chains.

• Aikya Organics – 2019 SEED Award Winner training over 1,200 women farmers to own and manage the agro value chain in #India.
• Kibebe – 2019 SEED Award Winner providing modern upcycled products created by #women artisans in Malawi.
• Greenbelt Energy – 2021 SEED Award Winner providing affordable biogas stoves to women from low and middle-income households through community-based direct sales agents in Zambia.

Aligned with the theme of this year “#EmbraceEquity”, we also want to highlight SunnyCotton, Perfect Fit, and PadCare – enterprises that empower women and benefit the environment through their promotion of menstrual hygiene:

• SunnyCotton – 2019 SEED Award Winner– produces reusable menstrual pads in #Thailand. The #enterprise not only creates jobs for village women based on their traditional sewing and weaving skills but also benefits the environment by reducing waste from disposable pads.
• Perfect Fit – 2021 SEED Award Winner– offers reusable pads in Indonesia and educates locals on menstrual health. The enterprise helps reduce approximately 1.2 million single-use pads from the landfill.
• PadCare – 2021 SEED Award Winner– installs collection bins in public washrooms, collect pads and process them for recycling in India. The enterprise not only provides access to equitable sanitation and hygiene but also raises menstrual health awareness.

We look forward to supporting more female entrepreneurs in our programmes!