Replicating successful business models - Moving from lighthouses to a network of street lamps
Published: 05 September 2016 Christine Meyer
It is a challenge to transition to a low carbon economy while improving the well-being of the world’s nine billion people. By replicating proven solutions, positive impact from eco-inclusive enterprises can spread, and facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy while also improving social conditions as set in the SDGs. Read more
SDGs:
Launch of the SAG-SEED Replicator Connect Workshop in Kenya: Apply by 9 September 2016!
Published: 16 August 2016
A SAG-SEED Replicator Connect Workshop will take place on 26 September 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya. Read more
SDGs:
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
SDGs:
SEED South Africa Symposium 2016
Published: 21 March 2016
More than 200 entrepreneurs, practitioners, investors and policymakers made the SEED South Africa Symposium on March 15-16th 2016 a great success. Read more
SDGs:
Replicating Eco-Inclusive Business Models: A Contribution to Sustainable Low-Carbon Economies
Published: 01 February 2016 Akash Uba, Dr. Christina Tewes-Gradl, Mariska van Gaalen, Tendai Pasipanodya
In the face of climate change, we urgently need to find pathways to a low-carbon economy. Only then can we improve the well-being of nine billion people by 2030 and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Developing countries have to leap-frog to a low-carbon economy while continuing to improve well-being. Innovative eco-inclusive enterprises are already implementing low-carbon solutions while also providing social and economic benefits to those who need them most. This study shows how the replication of eco-inclusive entrepreneurial solutions tackles the double challenge of mitigating climate change and improving well-being, therefore arguing that they should be strategically incorporated in global and national plans for achieving a low-carbon economy. Read more
SDGs:
Boosting support for social and environmental entrepreneurship in Namibia
Published: 15 October 2015 Julia Rohe-Frydrych
Small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) contribute an estimated 12 per cent towards Namibia’s gross domestic product and employ about 20 per cent of the country’s workforce. Read more
SDGs:
Celebrating 10 Years of SEED Awards (2005-2015)
Published: 22 September 2015
Ten years ago, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in New York, 5 enterprises received the first SEED Awards. They were chosen, from a pool of over 260 entries from 66 countries, for their potential to advance sustainable development in their communities and contribute to the UN's Millennium Development Goals. Read more
Building Inclusive Value Chains
Published: 27 August 2015 Carolin Ehrensperger, Mareike Grytz
How can people living at the base-of-the-pyramid (BoP) be integrated into global value chains and improve their livelihood on a long-term perspective? One answer clearly is: by fostering Inclusive Business Models (IBM). Read more
SDGs:
Sands of time
Published: 30 June 2015 Helen Marquard
Today, the 30th June, is a significant date: it is exactly 8 years since I left the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to join the SEED Initiative, and it now marks a transition from my role as Executive Director of SEED, to Chairman. Read more
SDGs:
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
SDGs:
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
How to improve support to social and environmental enterprises in Mozambique?
Published: 16 January 2015 Rainer Agster
Since the end of the civil war in 1992 Mozambique has experienced impressive growth rates of 6-8 per cent; embodying the new optimism regarding Africa’s economic outlook. Read more
SDGs:
SEED Africa Symposium 2014
Published: 25 November 2014
On September 10th and 11th, the SEED Africa Symposium 2014 convened at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. Read more
SDGs:
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
SDGs:
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
SDGs:
Enterprise Brief: Waste to Food
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
SDGs:
Early stage impact investing: a call for action
Published: 18 August 2014 Anais Mangin
The exponential growth of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in Africa, Asia and Latin America has contributed significantly to the burgeoning green economy. Read more
SDGs:
SEED South Africa Symposium 2014
Published: 20 March 2014
The green economy has taken hold in South Africa, and innovative products and services are being introduced by entrepreneurs even at the grassroots. Read more
SDGs:
SEED Awards 2014 - A Call for Applications
Published: 11 February 2014
Start-up social and environmental entrepreneurs who have developed innovative products or services and are working with local communities can win a tailor-made business support package through the 2014 SEED Awards, which open for nominations today. Read more
SEED Awards 2014 - Apply by 8 April!
Published: 01 January 2014
The SEED Initiative has just launched the 2014 SEED Awards to support entrepreneurs for sustainable development. Read more
Case Study: Pintadas Solar
Published: 07 September 2012
Pintadas Solar creates sustainable and replicable models geared towards improving livelihoods and climate resilience in areas where agriculture and pasture is the main economic activity. Read more
SDGs:
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
SDGs:
Scale-Up and Replication of Eco-Inclusive Enterprises
Published: 12 September 2008 Heather Creech
This paper explores how the international development community approaches scale-up and replication, and in particular its role in supporting start-up social and environmental enterprises with a view to expanding their business and their social and environmental impacts. Read more
SDGs:
