Agriculture: Re-thinking an old industry
Published: 16 June 2016 Carolin Ehrensperger
Agriculture still plays an essential role in the economy, and particular for employment on the African continent. Mozambique is no exception. In 2011, the agricultural sector contributed to almost one-third of the country’s GDP and provided a living for 80% of the working population. Read more
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From Innovation to Imitation: Register now for the 2016 SEED Africa Symposium
Published: 25 May 2016
Registrations are now open for the 2016 SEED Africa Symposium. The Symposium is an annual multi-stakeholder forum for mutual exchange of knowledge and experiences. It will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, on 28-29 September. Read more
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Launch of the SAG-SEED Starter and BDS+ training in Ghana
Published: 25 May 2016
Two new opportunities for Ghana are now open. SEED is glad to announce a call for applications. Read more
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A perspective from India
Published: 10 May 2016 Allison Robertshaw
This past month, it was India’s turn, as SEED hosted an event around investment in the low-carbon, green SME sector. Whilst it’s fair to say that every region and country has its own challenges, it remains surprising how similar the discussion is and how clearly certain interventions are necessary in order to make the green SME space both more resilient and scalable. Read more
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SEED shares experience at the 2016 Tech4Dev Conference
Published: 05 May 2016
SEED is invited to participate in the panel discussion “Social Innovations for Energy Access: Organizing Sustainable Energy for All" at this year's International Tech4Dev Conference in Lausanne. Read more
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Women-to-women energy networks: essential piece of the puzzle for SE4All
Published: 04 May 2016 Amélie Heuër
Over the last three days, I’ve had the pleasure of attending the 2016 International Tech4Dev Conference, which focussed on innovation to achieve social impact. Read more
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Unlocking capital, boosting support – building the ecosystem for eco-entrepreneurship in South Africa
Published: 14 April 2016 Marion Müller vom Berge
This year’s South Africa Symposium brought together more than 200 entrepreneurs, practitioners, investors and policy makers to discuss how to grow and support social and eco-enterprises in South Africa. The event focused on two key challenges facing SMEs in South Africa. Read more
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SEED hosts Cleantech Investment Forum Asia
Published: 13 April 2016
SMEs will play a vital role in the development of the clean tech industry, and on April 22nd at the Lalit Hotel in Mumbai, SEED will host a full day of discussions surrounding how to encourage investment in this key area. Read more
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BDS+ in Mauritius: Nominate until 13 April!
Published: 08 April 2016
The Call for Nominations for the BDS+ workshop in Mauritius is now open. Read more
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Launch of the SAG-SEED Starter Month in Kenya and Uganda
Published: 05 April 2016
Call for application: SEED is looking for motivated potential entrepreneurs! Read more
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From trash to cash: How to turn waste back into a valuable resource
Published: 09 March 2016 Carolin Ehrensperger
Worldwide heaps of waste are expected to double by 2015 according to the World Bank. The majority of it is burned, dumped into landfills or ends up in our oceans. The small minority of the waste we are producing is taken for what it really is: an important resource. Read more
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9 SEED winners ready to raise funds at Pretoria Investor Forum
Published: 03 March 2016
SEED and the Inclusive Business Accelerator have launched Deal Ready Programme to support selected SEED winners in the capturing of investment finance. Read more
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Social Enterprise in Latin America - A frontier market on the cusp of going mainstream
Published: 24 February 2016 Allison Robertshaw
Last week I had the pleasure of attending New Ventures’ Foro Latinoamericano de Inversion Impacto in Merida, Mexico. It was an inspiring few days unpicking the latest developments in social entrepreneurship in the region and proved an interesting opportunity to compare to recent developments in Africa where I attended SEED’s African Symposium just a few months ago. Read more
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Launch of the SAG-SEED Starter Months in Mauritius
Published: 22 February 2016
Want to become an eco-entrepreneur? Apply now for the SAG-SEED Starter, the three challenges are: Sustainable Agriculture, Manufacturing and Tourism Read more
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Launch of the SAG-SEED Starter Months in South Africa
Published: 09 February 2016
The Switch Africa Green-SEED Starter Months invite entries from teams who develop green and inclusive business solutions to one of the key social and environmental challenges in South Africa. Read more
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Changing the paradigm of childcare and income generation in Nairobi’s slums
Published: 04 February 2016 Marion Müller vom Berge
Every child in the world has the right to access high-quality early childhood care and education, and every woman deserves the opportunity to participate in the workforce and generate income, free of concern that their child may not be cared for properly. Read more
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Call for Applications for the 2016 SEED Awards
Jona Liebl Source: UN Environment
Start-up enterprises that solve pressing local issues by integrating social and environmental benefits into their business models can apply for the 2016 SEED Awards, which opened for nominations today. Read more
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Financing for the ‘Missing Middle’ in South Africa
Published: 12 January 2016 Jana Rudnik, Mirko Zürker
Financing! 20k-200k USD is needed for the ‘missing middle’ is one of ten critical aspects that SEED emphasises as crucial for the growth of SMMEs. Read more
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Tools, Tools, Tools – the SEED Training of Trainers (TOT) in South Africa created a sound support base for green, inclusive SMEs
Published: 18 December 2015 Jana Rudnik, Magdalena Kloibhofer
As part of its extensive programme that has been built around an annual awards scheme promoting social and environmental entrepreneurship in developing countries, SEED developed a unique toolkit that addresses these key issues and lays out guidelines how to strategically integrate the imperatives of sustainability into businesses. Read more
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SEED discussed Green Climate Fund and SMEs at COP21 in Paris
Published: 14 December 2015
SEED hosted a working dinner about "The Green Climate Fund and SMEs: How to ensure public climate funding reaches the Bottom of the Pyramid" Read more
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The role of finance in addressing climate change—but where is the conversation around SME’s?
Published: 07 December 2015 Allison Robertshaw
It would be an understatement to say that finance is one of the big issues being discussed at COP21. I’ve managed to pop into a number of side events on the topic and it comes up in even the most casual of conversations. Read more
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Investment, Research, Innovation... and SMEs?
Published: 03 December 2015 Allison Robertshaw
Is it not time that we start to build green technology development capacity in developing countries? Read more
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The climate negotiations in Paris - What does it mean for the green SME community?
Published: 25 November 2015 Allison Robertshaw
In just five days, politicians, policy makers, NGOs, businesses, entrepreneurs and activists will head to Paris, for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP), to see whether the world can hammer together an agreement to move the world away from catastrophic climate change before time runs out. Will they be successful? Read more
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Has our obsession with scale blinded us as to the real way to have impact?
Published: 18 November 2015 Allison Robertshaw
When I was in Nairobi a few weeks ago, our team at SEED brought together more than 500 people at our 2015 SEED Africa Symposium to discuss the latest developments in social and environmental entrepreneurship. Read more
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Cutting down trees for survival: How women can provide an alternative source of energy
Published: 06 November 2015 Anais Mangin
"Then the refugees came and started to cut down trees and soon there was no forest left, (..) The locals also chopped trees and made charcoal to sell to the refugees." (UNHCR, 1996) Read more
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