In 2023, SEED has been hard at work supporting SMEs and promoting their crucial role in advancing sustainable and eco-friendly future, as well as fostering the transition to a circular economy. We are delighted to share some of our most meaningful achievements and activities, as we reflect on the passing year.

The involvement of local MSMEs that provide sustainable goods and services in government procurement systems can drive the transition to a sustainable economy, provide job opportunities and local economic development, and accelerate the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keterlibatan UMKM lokal yang menyediakan barang dan jasa berkelanjutan dalam sistem pengadaan barang dan jasa pemerintah dapat mendorong transisi menuju perekonomian berkelanjutan, memberikan lapangan kerja dan pengembangan ekonomi lokal, serta mempercepat pemulihan dari pandemi Covid-19

This Annual Report guides you through the innovative ways that SEED has advanced in 2016 to serve as an active thought leader in the realm of eco-inclusive entrepreneurship for sustainable development, while also introducing to you this year’s SEED Winners that are all individually driving sustainable development forward in their communities and in their countries.

Over the last ten years SEED has supported more than 200 social and environmental enterprises enabling collaboration and peer learning. SEED’s inspiring success story and significant key lessons have now been captured with a 10 Year Flagship Report.

This sectoral policy brief provides an short overview to policy-makers and practitioners of the common challenges faced by eco-inclusive enterprises in this strategic sector in South Africa. The brief is designed to guide policy-makers and practitioners in the prototyping and implementation of measures to ensure the success and scaling-up of eco-inclusive enterprises in South Africa.

2015 was also a special year for SEED, in which the partnership celebrated 10 Years of SEED Awards, and took the opportunity to take stock and publish a comprehensive Flagship Report that looked not only on the success of former SEED Winners and the lessons learnt over those 10 Years of SEED Awards, but also on opportunities that could help increase the impact of locally-driven social and environmental entrepreneurship in the years to come. This and more you will find in the Anual Report

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.

Looking back, 2013 has been a particularly good year for SEED, a year marked particularly by the selection of the 34 new SEED Winners - remarkable exemplars of social and environmental entrepreneurs at the grassrootsand by growing interest internationally in the programme, but also by new partnerships to build on those that have been essential in SEED’s growth so far.

In 2012, SEED has not only continued to work with a record number of inspiring and innovative grassroots social and environmental enterprises all over the world, but has also formed new partnerships and participated in major events which contributed to the promotion of both gender equality and the green economy.

2011 was a remarkable year for SEED, where a record number of SEED winners were awarded.

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.

SEED 2009 Annual Report sets out our main activities and achievements for the period from May 2006 - December 2008.

One of the SEED focus areas for 2016 includes eco-inclusive entrepreneurship in Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia. Eco-inclusive entrepreneurship is an important market-based solution for economies transitioning to sustainable growth trajectories while providing essential services for the marginalised populations of these emerging economies. This report is part of an effort to support the sector through improved research, building the track record for eco-inclusive enterprises and highlighting their ‘triple bottom line’ impact and contribution towards green growth.

Innovation of the agro-processing sector has been identified – and supported through policy measures and funding initiatives – as central to the low carbon, inclusive economic transition in South Africa. Small and medium-sized eco-inclusive enterprises in the sector play a pivotal role in mitigating the impacts of climate change and tackling poverty and social inequalities.

To protect biodiversity, we need to create alternative economic opportunities for the people who depend on the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. Biodiversity is the foundation of human well-being and prosperity. At the same time, human activities are its greatest threat. In particular, biodiversity hotspots like savannahs, forests and coral reefs are under pressure due to unsustainable tourism development and the livelihood needs of low-income communities.

This report draws insights from a three-year study of the performance of social and environmental micro enterprises and tackles two important questions. Firstly, whether and how micro and small social and environmental enterprises make contributions to social, environmental and economic progress within their communities; and secondly, what the enabling factors and barriers towards making such contributions are.

This report draws insights from a three-year longitudinal study of the performance of social and environmental micro enterprises and tackles two important questions. Firstly, whether and how micro and small social and environmental enterprises make contributions to social, environmental and economic progress within their communities; and secondly, what the enabling factors and barriers towards making such contributions are.

Energy and agriculture form a nexus. On one hand, energy can be generated by using crops, agricultural residues, and livestock waste. On the other hand, substantial amounts of energy are required along the agricultural and food processing value chain, accounting for around 30 % of the global energy consumption.

Small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) that pursue a triple bottom line approach offer one concrete means of achieving this shift to a Green Economy. This report highlights grassroots eco-enterprises, the types of impact they are achieving and the challenges and opportunities they face.

SEED has worked closely with the Gordon Institute for Business Science in 2015 on a study that integrates for policy-makers the findings of five case studies in South Africa. As concerns with accomplishing SDG goals have become inextricably lodged within social and policy debates, scholars studying SMMEs have developed understandings of enterprises embedded within complex institutional environments. The current study has looked how SEED Winners in South Africa progress in achieving their triple bottom line objectives, taking into account challenges they encounter along the way, and success factors that have enabled them to move forward.

SEED has worked closely with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) since 2007 on a programme of research to increase technical knowledge and understanding about small-scale social and environmental enterprises. Based on the research and Symposia consultations, SEED was able to publish the following Analysis for Policy Makers, which provides new insights into the role of micro and small social and environmental enterprises as essential actors in building green economies.

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.

This report draws insights from a three-year longitudinal study of the performance of social and environmental micro enterprises and tackles two important questions. Firstly, whether and how micro and small social and environmental enterprises make contributions to social, environmental and economic progress within their communities; and secondly, what the enabling factors and barriers towards making such contributions are.

SEED a travaillé en étroite collaboration avec l'Institut international du développement durable (IIDD) depuis 2007 sur un programme de recherche pour améliorer les connaissances techniques et la compréhension de petites entreprises sociales et environnementales. Sur la base des consultations de recherche et des symposiums, SEED pouvait publier l'analyse suivante pour les décideurs, qui offre de nouvelles perspectives sur le rôle des entreprises sociales et environnementales micro et petites comme des acteurs essentiels dans la construction d'économies vertes.

This study provides insights into how eco-inclusive enterprises can enhance their social, environmental and business impacts and how policymakers can create a more enabling environment for such enterprises to thrive.

Eight critical success factors and fourteen performance indicators have been identified through the investigation of SEED Winners and other social and environmental entrepreneurs.

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.