Meet Eco-Inclusive Enterprises

Innovating business models for socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable products and services.

Enterprise Brief: Food & Trees for Africa

Published: 24 August 2010
Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA) is a social enterprise that is implementing sustainable natural resource management and food security programmes. FTFA has distributed over 3.6 million trees and facilitated the creation of over 2500 organic food gardens for the poorest in South Africa. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative

Published: 24 August 2010
Ghana Bamboo Bikes aims at taking advantage of the abundant raw bamboo materials in Ghana to manufacture high quality bamboo bikes suitable for export markets and for the road conditions in Ghana and affordable to the poor. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: G-lish: Income Generation, Re-Generation, Next Generation

Published: 24 August 2010
G-lish produces baskets from plastic and cloth scraps using traditional Bolgatanga weaving techniques to promote sustainable development in impoverished rural communities. Basket sales are coupled with tree planting and youth development activities to create a culture of environmental conservation. Read more
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Enterprise Profile: High-value Syrup from 'Prekese' Fruits for Community Livelihood Empowerment

Published: 24 August 2010
Relying on local raw materials, this initiative promotes the sustainable cultivation and harvesting of Prekese fruits in rural communities, allowing income to be generated over the whole life cycle of the tree. Read more
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SEED Annual Report 2010

Published: 23 August 2010
The SEED Annual Report 2010 covers SEED’s progress and developments in 2010, as well as information on the SEED Award Winners and SEED Gold Winners from 2009: how SEED helps its winners to establish scale up; and tools developed by SEED for social and environmental entrepreneurs. Read more
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2005 SEED Winner Blue Ventures is one of the 12 finalist in the BBC World Challenge

Published: 23 July 2010
Through an annual award, the World Challenge has identified, for the past six years, projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. Read more
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SEED Winners book success with the help of the Small Grants Programme

Published: 01 July 2010
The GEF (Global Environmental Facility) Small Grants programme (SGP), implemented by UNDP, has recently granted the women's group 'Solar Women of Totogalpa', a partner in the 2008 SEED winning initiative 'Lighting up Hope and Communities', funding for the construction of their solar restaurant. Read more
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New Partnerships for 2007 SEED Winner “Nueva Vida”

Published: 01 July 2010
Since they received the 2007 SEED award, “Nueva Vida” (New Life), based in the Ecuadorian Andes, has been able to make progress through new partnerships. Read more
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SEED Executive Director launches the 2010 SEED awards at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Bamako, Mali

Published: 25 June 2010
Helen Marquard, SEED's Executive Director has joined the 12thsession of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Bamako, Mali (20-25 June). During a UNEP-hosted event on the green economy at AMCEN, she launched the 2010 Awards for entrepreneurship in sustainable development. Read more
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Scale-up and replication for Social and Environmental Enterprises

Published: 21 June 2010
As part of the research agenda, SEED has published a new paper, exploring how the international development community approaches scale-up and replication. Read more
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2009 SEED winner from the Cook Islands expands to Africa and Asia

Published: 03 June 2010
The initiative 'Innovative oyster, fish and algae aqua-farming' in the Cook Islands was one of the 2009 SEED Winners. The initiative co-farms fish with shellfish and micro-algae in inland ponds, drawing on the tropical climate, natural nutrient cycles and new harvesting technologies. It will now expand to Nigeria and Pakistan. Read more
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Coming to a Supermarket Near You

Published: 26 May 2010
From only a vision and informal association of diverse partners, the SRI Global Marketing Partnership (System of Rice Intensification), one of the 2005 SEED award winners, has become the catalyst for an international enterprise spanning several countries and exporting many tons of certified organic and fair trade rice grown by small farm families. SRI-produced specialty rice is now available in retail stores. Read more
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SEED 2009 Gold Winners move on

Published: 02 March 2010
Over the last few months the SEED Secretariat has attended all the award ceremonies and conducted workshops for each of the 2009 SEED Gold Winners. Read more
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Andaman Discoveries chosen as the 2009 Best Green Tour Operator in Thailand

Published: 02 March 2010
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has awarded Andaman Discoveries (2008 SEED Winner) the '2009 Best Green Tour Operator' title. Read more
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2008 SEED Winners work together

Published: 02 March 2010
Seeing the obvious parallels between her work and that of the Ban Talae Nok women's soap group, Mamta Chandarat, one of the partners in the Himalayan Oregano Oil and Sustainable Livelihoods against MRSA initiative (SEED Winner 2008), visited Andaman Discoveries (SEED Winner 2008), in November 2009. Read more
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Interview with Jonathan Tillson

Published: 02 March 2010
Jonathan Tillson, Head of the Sustainable Development Unit at the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Chair of the SEED Board, explains UK’s plans in regards to supporting social and environmental entrepreneurs and talks about the focus on social and environmental entrepreneurs during the Copenhagen summit and the implications for COP16 in Mexico and about achieving a sustainable Olympics 2012 in London. Read more
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Interview with Achim Steiner

Published: 13 November 2009
Achim Steiner the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, the host of the SEED Initiative, talks here about the importance of the Green Economy and why supporting small-scale social and environmental entrepreneurs is of global interest. Read more
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SEED's Executive Director visits the Development Marketplace 2009

Published: 13 November 2009
Helen Marquard, SEED's Executive Director, was in Washington to visit the Development Marketplace 2009 (DM2009) and witnessed some remarkable initiatives that show many similarities with some of the SEED winners.  Read more

SEED's support to the 2009 SEED Winners

Published: 09 November 2009
Together with Adelphi Research, SEED has had the pleasure of working with the twenty 2009 SEED winners on a capacity building support package worth US$5,000. Read more
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2005 SEED Winner Blue Ventures receives the 2010 Condé Nast Environmental Award

Published: 03 November 2009
Blue Ventures who was one the 2005 SEED winners for initiating Madagascar's first community-run marine protected area, has now been awarded the 2010 Condé Nast Environmental Award. Read more
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2008 SEED Winner Pintadas Solar in Brazil has a new video

Published: 13 October 2009
The initiative sets out to help small farmers communities to adapt to climate change, improve local food security, mitigate their own carbon emissions, and reduce poverty by increasing income and creating local employment opportunities. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Almodo

Published: 24 August 2009
ALMODO, established in 2005, is a sustainable solid waste management system suitable for lower income urban areas. It collects, centralises and ecologically recovers waste and transforms it into products useful for the local community. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Bio-cultural Community Protocols

Published: 24 August 2009
Natural Justice is working with communities to develop bio-cultural community protocols. These help communities assert their rights to manage their natural resources and regulate access to their traditional knowledge according to their values and customary laws. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Carbon bank and village development project

Published: 24 August 2009
Since 2005 the Carbon Bank and Village Development Project (VDP) has encouraged, supported and enhanced community-based indigenous forestry through carbon offsets. The initiative enables successful climate change adaptation, local socio-economic development, and biodiversity conservation in rural Thailand. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Eco-Amazon Piabas of Rio Negro

Published: 24 August 2009
The project aims to safeguard traditional ornamental fisheries in the Amazon in a sustainable way by stimulating a niche market. Through a socially and environmentally responsible fishery cooperative and traders, the initiative introduces a fair trade system for rural communities. Read more
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