Spotlight on SEED Award Winners: The BIMG Beacon Projects Report 2024 showcases SEED Award Winner and Runner-up Enterprises
Published: 29 February 2024 Daniela Tonelli
The BIMG Beacon Projects Report 2024 highlights the pioneering efforts of SEED Award Winner and Runner-up Enterprises in tackling environmental and social challenges while driving business innovation. From Zambia's forest-conserving honey production to Indonesia's mycelium-based leather substitute, these enterprises exemplify the transformative power of sustainable business models in addressing global issues. Read more
First SEED TVET Training of Trainers
Published: 29 August 2023
Last month, we piloted the first SEED TVET Training of Trainers on Eco-Inclusive and Climate Change Adaptation Entrepreneurship at Linde Hotel in Mponela, Malawi. Read more
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Eco-Inclusive SMEs facilitating transformative change at HLPF 2023
Published: 19 July 2023
At the occasion of HLPF 2023, an event on "Eco-Inclusive SMEs facilitating transformative change for Nature, Climate, Circular- and Agrifood-Systems delivering towards the SDGs" was organised by SEED and the Government of Flanders. With localising the SDGs being one of the main focuses of HLPF 2023, the SEED event was probably the only one involving SMEs, delivering on the ground with and for local communities, facilitating needed transformative change for resilient ecosystems and societies, and for a green economy. Read more
SEED Contributed to the Arab Region Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2023
Published: 31 January 2023 Supapim Wannopas
Urgent action is needed to secure the environmental commons, reverse environmental degradation, and support human well-being. The role of Green SMEs in this process cannot be overstated, as they have the potential to bring about positive societal change for a resilient future. Read more
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SEED 20th anniversary celebration in India
Published: 09 December 2022
SEED celebrated 10 years of support for India’s transition to low-carbon and green economy since 2013 and the inauguration of the SEED India Hub in 2020. Read more
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SEED 20 Years Celebration in Malawi
Published: 29 November 2022
A celebration was held at Bingu International Conference Centre to mark the 20th anniversary of the SEED programme and the launch of the Biodiversity Finance Accelerator (BioFA) project in Malawi. The event brought together eco-inclusive and biodiversity enterprises supported by SEED and BioFA programmes, as well as supporters and implementing partners in the climate-smart entrepreneurship space. Read more
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Practitioner Labs: Green Finance for Climate Adaptation & Biodiversity
Published: 29 November 2022
The Biodiversity Finance Accelerator (BioFA) in collaboration with SEED hosted Practitioner Labs: Green Finance for Climate Adaptation & Biodiversity in Malawi. The Practitioner Labs aimed to facilitate a hands-on process that results in targeted green finance solutions, which support the growth of MSMEs that are actively delivering biodiversity solutions and championing climate adaptation efforts across their value chains. Read more
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Sustainable SME Action Agenda
Published: 10 November 2022 Arab Hoballah, Mirko Zürker, Simon Mühlbauer
To scale Green SME Support for 2030, SEED, GO4SDGs and UNEP jointly build on their collective experiences to formulate lessons learned and critical next steps to inform this Sustainable SME Action Agenda. Validated through a global consultation process involving key regional SME Stakeholder, this Action Agenda outlines critical next steps to empower the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and build forward better. Read more
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Join us at COP27 in Sharm-El-Sheikh
Published: 01 November 2022
From 9th – 11th November, 2022, SEED will host and participate in several high-level events during COP27. SEED will host and participate in several side-events to highlight the potential and raise awareness about the challenges for eco-inclusive small and medium-sized enterprises, the gamechangers of on-the-ground climate action, as well as the need and opportunities for scale up and impact through the “Coalition for Innovation, Circularity and Entrepreneurship”. Read more
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Insights from the LAC Future Lab for Innovation and Policy
Published: 18 October 2022
On October 13th 2022, SEED and GO4SDGs organised the Latin America and the Caribbean Future Lab for Innovation and Policy. The event was organised as part of the Global Future Lab series, bringing together around 30 regional SME stakeholders, such as policy makers, intermediaries and SMEs to co-create and develop future-proof solution. Designed to connect and leverage the expertise of these key stakeholders, the outcome of the Future Labs will inform a Sustainable SME Action Agenda. Read more
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The Africa Future Lab for Innovation and Policy
Published: 09 August 2022
On July 28th 2022, SEED, in collaboration with GO4SDGs, organised the Africa Future Lab for Innovation and Policy. The event was organised as part of the Global Future Labs that bring together 30 – 40 regional SME stakeholders, such as policy makers, intermediaries and SMEs to co-create and develop future-proof solutions. Read more
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Rethinking the Role of Business in Conservation: Why Small Local Enterprises are Key to Biodiversity and Climate Action
Published: 02 March 2022 Julia Rohe-Frydrych, Luis Ebert
SEED's Senior Advisor Julia Rohe-Frydrych and Enterprise Support Advisor Luis Ebert recently wrote an article that addresses the key role of small local enterprises in the struggle for biodiversity and climate action. Read more
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SEED highlights the importance of SMEs in the reforestation and climate change at Greek House Davos event
Published: 08 December 2021
SEED participated and showcased the importance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in reforestation and climate change mitigation on Greek House Davos platform. Read more
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Nature for Life Hub 2021 features SEED replication and scale-up activities
Published: 15 November 2021
The event Nature for Life Hub 2021 took place online from 4 - 6 October 2021, bringing together activists, influencers, leaders, and businesses to share and reflect on their ambitious journey towards a nature-positive future. Read more
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Green Honey Company Limited from Ghana
Published: 10 November 2021
Green Honey Company Limited trains farms to integrate beekeeping into crop farming as a method to reduce chemical use, increase crop yield and food quality. The bee products are purchased from the farmers to provide a ready market. The bee products are then repackaged and sold to retail outlets such as supermarkets. Read more
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SEED Awards 2021 Winners
Published: 13 July 2021
The SEED Awards for Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development is an annual awards scheme designed to identify the most innovative and promising locally led start-up eco-inclusive enterprises in developing and emerging economies. Read more
SDGs:
SEED Awards 2021 Runners-Up
Published: 13 July 2021
The SEED Awards for Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development is an annual awards scheme designed to identify the most innovative and promising locally led start-up eco-inclusive enterprises in developing and emerging economies. Read more
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Achieving Smart Agriculture Potential through Efficient Data Connectivity and Management
Published: 07 January 2021 Linde Wolters, Sonya Ong, Supapim Wannopas
Through the SEED Practitioner Labs for Policy Prototyping Thailand 2020, ListenField presented its policy solution through providing agronomic insight for sustainable and profitable farming. Read more
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Equity Crowdfunding Platform for Green MSME Financing | Climate Finance, Indonesia 2020
Published: 20 October 2020 Maggie Sloan
The Equity Crowdfunding Platform for Green MSME Financing solution, developed by Perkumpulan Untuk Peningkatan Usaha Kecil (PUPUK) builds on existing efforts to use public capital to spur MSME growth. This solution will: (a) Attract private investors by offering a pipeline of bankable MSMEs in a one-stop-shop for MSME financing. (b) Aggregate green MSMEs through partner business development service providers (or intermediaries), where finance is released to MSMEs in aggregate working with the specific BDS provider who has delivered cleaner production and green business advisory to the specific MSMEs integrated into the platform. Read more
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Enterprise Resilience: Six Critical Factors to Protecting Your Start-Up’s Future
Published: 24 September 2020
To better understand what resilience means for MSMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic, SEED interviewed 30 eco-inclusive enterprises. Unsurprisingly, MSMEs have been strongly affected by the economic shock of the pandemic. From these interviews, SEED has outlined the six critical factors for protecting the future of your enterprise. Read more
Eco-Inclusive Enterprises: Accelerating Southern Africa’s Green and Inclusive Economies
Published: 02 September 2020
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) provide 50% of jobs, contribute to over 35% of the GDP in emerging economies, and overall make up 90% of registered firms across the world. They are especially impactful in emerging economies as they work toward inclusive growth and equality for marginalised populations. At SEED, we focus on growing eco-inclusive enterprises which in turn contribute socially, economically, and environmentally to empowering the 5.2 billion people at the bottom of the pyramid worldwide.
This report examines the yearly impact of 80 of our eco-inclusive enterprises in three of our SEED countries: Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. These locally embedded enterprises, 51% of which are women-led, demonstrate that driving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can indeed be profitable and with a success rate of 82.5% still in business, they show long-lasting impact in each of their communities and sectors. Read more
This report examines the yearly impact of 80 of our eco-inclusive enterprises in three of our SEED countries: Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. These locally embedded enterprises, 51% of which are women-led, demonstrate that driving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can indeed be profitable and with a success rate of 82.5% still in business, they show long-lasting impact in each of their communities and sectors. Read more
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Eco-Inclusive Enterprises: Forerunners in Advancing the SDGs | SEED SDG Impact Snapshot
Published: 15 July 2020 Linde Wolters, Mirko Zürker, Net Pornlumon Nirachatsuwan
As governments respond to the wide-ranging problems resulting from the COVID-19 crisis, it’s worth thinking about how we may take this opportunity to shift towards a green economy. Because the way we recover from this crisis will impact our fight against climate change and our progress towards achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
A green recovery calls for investments in solutions that provide social, environmental and economic benefits to people, especially those in vulnerable and marginalised communities. SEED-supported eco-inclusive enterprises and other Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) already promote green-technologies while including low-income people in their value chain.
The SEED Impact Snapshot helps to reveal the versatility of the impact of eco-inclusive enterprises. It also helps to clarify where there is the biggest potential for their SDG contributions and how policymakers may help unlock that potential further. Read more
A green recovery calls for investments in solutions that provide social, environmental and economic benefits to people, especially those in vulnerable and marginalised communities. SEED-supported eco-inclusive enterprises and other Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) already promote green-technologies while including low-income people in their value chain.
The SEED Impact Snapshot helps to reveal the versatility of the impact of eco-inclusive enterprises. It also helps to clarify where there is the biggest potential for their SDG contributions and how policymakers may help unlock that potential further. Read more
SDGs:
SMEs for an African Green Economy
Published: 14 July 2020
On July 1st, Lewis Akenji, Executive Director of SEED, participated in a webinar that showcased the work that SEED and other organisations are currently doing to build a green, fair future for Africa. The webinar was part of the African Forum on Green Economy series of webinars that ran from April to July 2020. Read more
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Nature's Nectar Limited (Zambia) wins Energy Globe Award
Energy Globe Award Source: Energy Globe Award
The 2019 SEED Africa Award Finalist is awarded National Winner of the "Energy Globe“ World Award for Sustainability. Read more
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Scaling Policy and Financial Instruments for Eco-Inclusive SME Support | SEED South Africa Symposium 2020
Published: 06 July 2020 Camilla Shearman, Maggie Sloan
On 6th May, Mr Tlou Ramaru, Chief Director of Climate Change Adaptation in the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), welcomed enterprises, financial institutions, policy-makers, donors, and business development service providers to a Pitching Session during the online SEED South Africa Symposium 2020. This Pitching Session brought together stakeholders who have been actively designing policy and financial instruments to support the start-up and scale-up of climate-smart and socially inclusive enterprises in South Africa. Read more
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