Gaborone, Wednesday 20^th July 2022 – Over 25 enterprises in Botswana have benefitted from SEED’s capacity building and acceleration support since 2021. SEED and its implementing partner, the University of Botswana, deliver comprehensive business support packages to eco-inclusive enterprises through the Starter, Catalyser and Accelerator programmes.

The Government of Botswana initiated with its NDC a climate change adaptation strategy that encompasses all economic sectors, with a particular focus on the sectors of agriculture, water, and health. The government highlighted in its Vision 2036 four pillars, including sustainable economic development, human and social development, and sustainable environment. From 2021 onwards, SEED supports eco-inclusive enterprises in Botswana that are active in the climate change adaptation space building their capacities, organisational resilience and impact potential contributing herewith to Botswana’s NDC. Through the support of the Government of Flanders, SEED implements a three-tier support programme and accompanies business development service providers in adjusting their service portfolio towards climate adaptation enterprises.

Currently, 23 enterprises have completed the SEED Starter programme in Gaborone and Maun. The programme guides participants from the early stages of ideation to the generation of a viable business plan to launch an eco-inclusive enterprise. Participants join together in teams during Starter workshops to develop business blueprints and refine their business plans with the support of peer-learning and expert guidance.

After the SEED Awards launch in Botswana last year, SEED Award Winner for Climate Adaptation, Kalahari Honey, completed the SEED Accelerator. The programme, funded by the Government of Flanders, helps develop the investment readiness and operational excellence of established eco-inclusive enterprises as they design and take measures to effectively scale-up the business. The Accelerator provides SEED Award Winners with a support package that includes tailored needs assessment, capacity-building workshops applying the hands-on SEED Accelerator Toolkit, and one-on-one advice. Accelerator participants are empowered during business development workshops and expert consultation to improve their investment readiness and optimise their financial resources, including the Accelerator SEED Grant.

Also four SEED Award Runners-Up have received the Catalyser support: Bio Organic Naturals Skincare, BioWatt Botswana, Peo Naturals and Aiko Creations / EcoZera. The programme guides enterprises to refine their business model in order to optimise the environmental, social and economic impacts and improve investment readiness as they scale-up. Through the SEED Catalyser programme, enterprises receive a tailored support package combining peer-learning and the SEED Enterprise Toolkit.

SEED held a 20 years celebration in the country with the presence of selected enterprises, implementing partners and high-level invitees such as the Minister for Environment and Tourism, Her Excellency Minister Phildah Kereng. SEED-supported enterprises pitched their business models and showcased their eco-inclusive products. Following the event, Her Excellency Minister Phildah Kereng brought the voices of 5 enterprises to United Nations’ high-level political forum event in New York.

About the need to give visibility to eco-inclusive enterprises, Her Excellency Minister Phildah Kereng, Minister for Environment and Tourism, says: “We need to profile all these projects. We are not selling the product, but we are telling the story about what this product is doing, what it is doing is protecting the people of Botswana and their health.”

SEED’s Botswana Country Liaison, Kathrin Kirsch:” This was a successful first year of SEED implementing activities in Botswana. I am looking forward to keep up this momentum in order to scale the impact that the SEED supported enterprises are creating in Botswana in partnership with the enterprises and the ecosystem actors which joined us for the 20 Years of SEED celebration.” 

Watch the video of the SEED 20 Years celebration in Botswana.

For more information, or for interview requests with the SEED team, please contact:

Kathrin Kirsch. Botswana Country Liaison, SEED

E-mail: kathrin [dot] kirschseed [dot] uno (kathrin[dot]kirsch[at]seed[dot]uno)