As global leaders joined together in Katowice to determine the future of our planet, our SEED team was present at COP24 to demand that Climate Action takes the lead of SEED-supported small and growing eco-inclusive enterprises.

This year at COP24 in Katowice, SEED showcased the success stories of SEED-supported enterprises across sectors and urged stakeholders from private, public and social sectors to acknowledge and bolster the transformative role of entrepreneurship in combatting climate change and furthering sustainable development.

The SEED exhibition booth – together with its hosting partner adelphi research gGmbh – received numerous visitors from government, NGOs, smaller environmental consultancies and academia. The SEED team was inspired by conversations with the diverse COP24 attendees and their similar commitment to promoting market-based solutions driven by socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable innovation.

In part, the SEED exhibition booth highlighted the achievements of SEED Low Carbon Award Winners 2018 – an awards scheme open to enterprises from Colombia, Uganda, Thailand, India and Tanzania. These Award Winners have innovated contextually-relevant products and services which support climate change adaptation and mitigation along their value chains to generate positive environmental, social and economic impacts. The solutions offered by these enterprises range from a mobile app that eases waste management and green consumption, decentralised organic fertilizer production, urban composting solutions, upcycled and durable construction materials, to eco-efficient cooking fuel and appliances.

Additionally, SEED Practitioner Labs Climate Finance featured prominently at the exhibition booth and in conversations with booth visitors. These SEED Labs – across India, Thailand and Uganda in 2018 – joined together experts from financial institutions, NGOs, academia and the public sector to prototype climate finance products that support green economic growth in direct response to the financing needs of eco-inclusive enterprises. The SEED Labs resulted in the development of 10 climate finance products and revealed the wide field of innovation opportunities for private-sector investment opportunities that further climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. The results of these labs were also presented at a SEED/adelphi side-event at COP24 titled “Financing Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in Developing and Emerging Countries” (NDC Partnership Pavilion, 13th December 1 – 2:15 pm).

Both the SEED Low Carbon Awards 2018 and the SEED Practitioner Labs Climate Finance are supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

SEED looks forward to continuing conversations about the role of eco-inclusive entrepreneurship in green economies during upcoming high-level events in 2019 and beyond, including the Green Economy Coalition Global Meeting, PAGE Ministerial Conference, and the SEED South Africa Symposium 2019.