Enterprise Brief: O Viveiro
Published: 06 July 2015
O Viveiro maintains a centre for underprivileged girls, who receive training on organic farming, food processing, management and sales. The produce from the enterprise’s and local farms is harvested, processed and sold at two shops and a restaurant managed by the girls. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Lighting Up Women's Lives
Published: 06 July 2015
Lighting Up Women’s Lives has developed a model to support women entrepreneurship and facilitate affordable access to solar lights and chargers to rural villages of the Kavango region by creating synergies with the existing network and supply chain of established handicrafts companies. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Days for Girls Uganda
Published: 06 July 2015
Days for Girls Uganda empowers girls and women around menstrual hygiene. Partnering with local community groups, the enterprise provides training for women to produce and distribute washable menstrual hygiene kits and soaps, while supporting with business training, reproductive health education, and community awareness. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Black Gold Farm Manure
Published: 06 July 2015
Black Gold Farm Manure sells natural fertiliser produced from chicken manure and farm residues acquired from local smallholder farmers to households and farms in Malawi, providing training and employment to women and farmers from local communities. Read more
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Increasing the impact of social enterprises in developing and emerging economies
Published: 25 June 2015 Aline Margaux Wachner, Lisa M. Hanley, Tim Weiss
A recent large-scale survey published by Zeppelin University and Siemens Stiftung generally support the idea that social enterprises can have a positive impact on poverty reduction. However, it also reveals some caveats, which have led us to derive concrete recommendations for action. Read more
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Breaking the taboo: how managing menstruation in a hygienic and environment-friendly way can empower thousands of girls and women while reducing waste in developing countries
Published: 02 June 2015 Amélie Heuër, Anais Mangin
While it may have gone unnoticed to many, the 28th of May was the International Menstrual Hygiene Day; a day initiated by WASH United to create awareness around the right of women and girls to hygienically manage their menstruation – in privacy, safety and with dignity – where ever they are. Read more
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greenABLE, a SEED Story from South Africa
Published: 26 May 2015
greenABLE has found an innovative solution for recycling empty printer cartridges. The recycled plastic and metals are sold, generating a steady flow of income and employment opportunities for previously unemployed persons with disabilities. Jobs are being created in the enterprise’s recycling facility or as greenAGENTS who run their own home-based cartridge collection business and sell the collected cartridges back to the enterprise. Read more
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Greening South Africa’s economy: improved business development support for social and environmental enterprises
Published: 06 May 2015 Julia Rohe-Frydrych, Rest Kanju
According to World Bank, South Africa ranks as an upper-middle income economy, representing the second-largest economy in Africa. While disposing of an abundant supply of natural resources and a modern infrastructure, unemployment, poverty, and inequality remain a challenge. Read more
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Preparing women entrepreneurs for tomorrow’s reality
Published: 08 March 2015 Anna Fälth
In October 2014, UN Women Executive Director proposed 2030 to be the expiry date for gender inequality (UN Women). How can we make this bold goal a reality? Where do we start? Let’s start by envisioning the world in 2030. Read more
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SEED Awards 2015 - Apply by 31 March 2015!
Published: 06 February 2015
In 2015 SEED will make available up to 31 SEED Awards, for which SEED has received support from the European Union, the Government of Flanders, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the international law firm Hogan Lovells. Additional support is provided by the Government of the Netherlands and other SEED Partners. Read more
SEED Annual Report 2014
Published: 17 December 2014 Amélie Heuër, Anais Mangin, Helen Marquard, Jona Liebl, Mirko Zürker, Rainer Agster
2014 was truly exceptional; a year where SEED recognised over forty new SEED Winners - remarkable enterprises that generate grassroots eco-solutions at the grassroots. This and more great SEED achievements in our annual report. Read more
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Pathways to a greener economy: why mountain farming should not be overlooked
Published: 11 December 2014 Jona Liebl, Magdalena Kloibhofer
Today is International Mountain Day. Are you wondering what this is all about? We did too when we first heard of it. Read more
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Championing women’s online learning through storytelling - Join the UN Women iLearn Center
Published: 03 December 2014
UN Women has now launched iLearn, a global mobile-learning platform for and by women entrepreneurs. Read more
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World AIDS Day 2014: SEED Winners provide opportunities for affected women
Published: 01 December 2014
SMMEs like the SEED Winner from Rwanda have and continue to make their own valuable contributions to Closing the Gap by creating economic opportunities for HIV-infected as well as affected women and their families. Read more
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Social and Green Enterprises – How to Create Enabling Frameworks to Increase their Contribution to Sustainable Development?
Published: 04 November 2014 Amélie Heuër
Over the last four years, SEED has hosted a series of unique multi-stakeholder for a focussed on the Green Economy and Africa - the SEED Symposia - where each year innovative and promising start-up enterprises, that won a SEED Award for their remarkable efforts to address social and environmental challenges at the grassroots, are presented. Read more
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Promoting entrepreneurship for sustainable development: why, and how?
Published: 23 October 2014 Helen Marquard
When UNEP, UNDP and IUCN decided to register the SEED Initiative as a Type II partnership at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, they clearly thought they were on to something – but possibly not quite what SEED is now. Read more
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Harnessing the potential of Baobab to provide Mozambican women with new income opportunities
Published: 22 October 2014 Jona Liebl, Mirko Zürker
They are one of the most visually-enthralling trees on the planet. The ancient Baobab – endemic mostly to semi-arid regions of tropical Africa including Mozambique – can live for over 1000 years. Read more
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Creating an enabling environment for social and environmental entrepreneurship in Malawi
Published: 29 September 2014 Mirko Zürker, Rainer Agster
As one of the poorest countries in the world, Malawi is characterised by a largely rural population; 84 per cent of Malawi’s population lives outside cities and depends on agriculture as their primary source of income. Read more
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From Mobile Solar Computer Classrooms to Novel Baobab Products: Green Entrepreneurship is Thriving Across Africa and Beyond
Published: 10 September 2014
Nairobi plays host to one of the largest gatherings of start-up social and environmental enterprises ever, as 41 green entrepreneurs are celebrated at the 2014 SEED Awards Africa Symposium. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: KadAfrica: Girls Agro Investment (GAIN) Project
Published: 05 September 2014
The Girls Agro-Investment (GAIN) Project trains rural school-aged girls to manage and run small-holder agricultural businesses in passion fruit farming. Empowering the girls to pass on their knowledge to their communities, the project offers an economic alternative to rural exodus. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Arusha Women Entrepreneur
Published: 05 September 2014
Waste to Food (W2F) provides an alternative to the disposal of organic waste in landfills. A combination of two technologies offers a commercially profitable and scalable processing system for recycling food waste into high-quality compost. The franchise model fosters enterprise development. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: All Women Recycling
Published: 05 September 2014
All Women Recycling turns discarded plastic bottles into unique gift boxes, called kliketyklikboxes, which are sold internationally. The enterprise provides employment opportunities for young women, street waste collectors and others; it also strengthens societal environmental awareness and contributes to cleaner townships. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Southwestern Women Bean Growers and Marketing Cooperative Union
Published: 05 September 2014
The enterprise works to rally together the existing smallholder sugar bean women farmers in South Western Uganda. Women joining the co-operative marketing union are empowered to increase production, value addition and sales through training, social support, and wide market access. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: BUWOBE
Published: 05 September 2014
BUWOBE is a co-operative beekeeping enterprise producing honey and beeswax products. In mobilising women in the Masindi region to become beekeepers, the enterprise uses the honey business as a vehicle for community development, including promotion of sustainable land use and climate change adaptation. Read more
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Enterprise Brief: Khoelife Organic Soap and Oils Primary Co-operative
Published: 05 September 2014
Khoelife Organic Soap and Oils Co-operative markets organic soaps and oils. Through training and a microloans system, its members are enabled to become independent women entrepreneurs. Khoelife Manufacturing, the producer, uses traditional labour-intensive methods, certified organic ingredients and renewable energy. Read more
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