1. The Government of Flanders and adelphi global gGmbH are pleased to announce the launch of the new SEED project in Malawi aimed to contribute to sustainably boosting productivity and incomes by fostering a conducive environment and directly supporting climate-smart agricultural micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Mzimba and Kasungu districts.

  2. The SEED "Boosting Eco-Inclusive Enterprises for Climate Adaptation in Southern Africa" project, funded by the Government of Flanders, has concluded this year, marking a significant milestone in our efforts to support sustainable development across the region. 

  3. SEED's National Dialogue Forum (NDF), held on 28 November 2024 in Rabat and brought together more than 50 participants, including policymakers, green entrepreneurs, representatives of business support organisations and financial institutions

  4. Entrepreneurs and policymakers gathered at a side event at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference co-hosted by SEED to spotlight the essential role of Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in driving the transition towards circular and low-carbon economies.

  5. 2022 is a special year for SEED, not only celebrating 20 years but also drawing lessons from activities and various projects, initiating new collaborations while looking forward to 2023 and beyond, being better informed and equipped to contribute to urgent transformative change with and through SMEs. The 2022 Annual Report highlights SEED activities and achievements in terms of enterprise support, ecosystem building and advocacy.

  6. 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.

  7. SEED and FAO will host a Side Event at UN Food Systems Summit +2, on Wednesday, 26 July, in Rome, Italy and online. The side-event considers countries' pathways and different realities by showcasing and exchanging various bottom-up solutions and innovations that can support ongoing sectoral policies, national food systems strategies and voluntary national reviews in the context of the 2030 agenda.

  8. 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.

  9. SEED will be organising three side events and co-organising a 4th one at COP28 in collaboration with strategic partners to advocate for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their role in the transition to circular and low carbon economies.

  10. SEED has been very active at COP28, organising 3 events, co-organising a 4th one, and contributing as to the panel of 4 other events. All had a common aim: advocating for the pivotal role of SMEs as gamechangers in the transition to circular and low-carbon economies.
  11. At SEED, our commitment to fostering the transition to a circular economy is unwavering, and we firmly believe that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can be instrumental game-changers in this transformative journey. Recognising their potential to curtail carbon emissions, manage waste efficiently, and contribute to community education, we are excited to unveil a compelling series of case study videos focusing on four exemplary circular enterprises in Uganda and South Africa.
  12. UMODZI Consulting is a leading managing consulting firm with activities that span across all sectors of the economy and include business start-up, incubation, research, project design and management, facilitation of workshops, mentorship and coaching, among others.

  13. SEED is now accepting applications for the Green Entrepreneurship Awards. Funded by the Government of Flanders, the Awards are part of a joint initiative to promote entrepreneurship for sustainable development
  14. 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.

  15. The SEED Malawi National Dialogue Forum 2024 brought together more than 100 entrepreneurs, policymakers, financial institutions, business development service providers and other key actors supporting entrepreneurship from Malawi, Zambia and Botswana to celebrate 10 years of SEED driving impact through eco-inclusive partnerships and innovation in Southern Africa.
  16. The Impact Simplifier is an intuitive and transparent web-based tool that calculates, summarises and visualises the positive impact you have for the world. It also generates a brief impact report document of your business, which you can easily share with all your desired target audiences and stakeholders.

  17. At SEED, we celebrate and support innovative enterprises around the globe who integrate social and environmental objectives into their business models. On World Environment Day, we would like to give a shout out to enterprises who #BeatPlasticPollution everyday through their innovative products and eco-inclusive value chains.
  18. Realising green and low-carbon economies in Uganda: How can we support, finance and replicate successful eco-inclusive business models to trigger action?

  19. Dakeni is a small, very rural village near Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal - around 300 people live in the village. Arriving in the area, we see local women taking care of a large plant nursery. A lot of the men are working in the distant cities.

  20. Do you recycle? – Good. But do you know what happens to your waste when it has been collected?

  21. Momentum has been building to replicate the success of eco-inclusive business models across countries, regions and the globe. A full programme of Replicator Workshops has kept us busy at SEED over the past few months. Since April, we have held eight SEED Replicator Connect Workshops across South Africa and two in Malawi with inspiring groups of highly motivated entrepreneurs.
  22. Today is International Mountain Day. Are you wondering what this is all about? We did too when we first heard of it.
  23. There are nearly 1.1 billion people without access to energy in the world. These are in communities that have no chance of getting access to national grids and even when they do: in low-income countries in remote rural communities, it is pretty unreliable.

  24. At SEED, we embrace the potential of female entrepreneurs and are committed to empowering women. We not only offer equal-opportunity employment and encourage flexible working arrangements to assist families, but also take data-driven action globally to support women entrepreneurs working towards a greener economy and to accelerate female empowerment, including through our past SEED Gender Equality Award scheme.
  25. As we celebrate the achievements of women today, we present the female-led Unique Quality Product Enterprise as part of our launch of the SEED Case Study Series 2018. The new case study series that emanated from the SWITCH Africa Green project "Promoting Eco-Entrepreneurship in Africa", implemented by SEED, showcases how innoative eco-inclusive start-up enterprises in Africa shape sustainable development on the ground.
  26. Coming up with new ideas is essential for the success of a business. Innovative enterprises are pro-active in solving problems, for instance, in reaching new customers or to refining their value proposition. An often unexplored opportunity for innovation is to integrate social and environmental dimensions into a company's business model.