Belle Verte aims to create a national closed-loop waste management system and raises awareness on the need to reuse and recycle waste through creative workshops.
WASHKing produces, supplies and installs biodigester toilets out of eco-friendly material for low-income urban households in order to improve health and economic conditions and to keep the environment clean. Training on using the toilet and after-sales services complement the package.
- The SEED National Dialogue Forum 2018 in Kampala was a continuation of ongoing conversations in Uganda about the role of the private sector and climate-smart enterprises in driving the transition to a socially inclusive and green economy.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director recognised the value of SEED winners in the Green Economy at the 2012 SEED Symposium and International Award Ceremony, 29 March 2012, Pretoria, South Africa.
- On 28-29 September 2016 the SEED Africa Symposium's topic was "From Innovation to Imitation" and brought together almost 450 enterprises, researchers, practitioners, investors, policy makers and representatives of the civil society who discussed how we can collaboratively utilize the replication of business models to successfully contribute to green growth and sustainable development in Africa.
- Unique Quality Product Enterprise trains marginalised women suppliers in agronomic practices to farm Fonio, an indigenous grain that has low water requirements and can withstand adverse weather conditions. The enterprise dries, de-husks, packages, stores and markets Fonio cereal products for household consumption.
- At the SEED South Africa Symposium, held over 19 and 20 March 2014, over 150 participants from government, private sector, media, academia, development, and civil society organisations, and including around 40 entrepreneurs, gathered at the CSIR in Pretoria to exchange experience, knowledge and perspectives that could advance the growth of socio-environmental entrepreneurship in South Africa.
- On September 10th and 11th, the SEED Africa Symposium 2014 convened at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. 320 representatives from business, government, academia, support institutions and civil society from 30 different countries attended. 'Making Growth Sustainable: Co-creating Solutions through Social and Green Entrepreneurship' was the theme of the event. Participants were invited to Explore, Enable and Engage with each other to find ways of building effective ecosystems for green and social enterprises in Africa.
Botanica Natural Products has developed a method of extracting beneficial substances from Bulbine frutescens, a traditional medicinal plant, for the cosmetic industry. The plant is cultivated and processed organically in its indigenous location in rural Limpopo, and its commercial use provides employment opportunities in the marginalised area. The local community further benefits through an Access and Benefit Sharing agreement.
Green Heat is an enterprise installing and marketing biogas digesters that convert decaying organic material from latrines and agricultural waste into biogas fuel for cooking and heating. By using biogas digesters, urban and rural households, schools, prisons, hospitals and tourist lodges in Uganda reduce their dependence on firewood and charcoal, improve their waste management systems, and help reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas emission rates related to methane release.
- 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.
IMAI Farming Cooperative is a women’s cooperative which has partnered with non-government organisations and government institutions and is increasing and stabilising farmers’ incomes and reducing waste by processing surplus fresh vegetable produce into pickles. The cooperative also encourages organic farming.
- Claire Reid Reel Gardening provides consumers with a pre-fertilised seed strip that encases seeds at the correct depth and distance apart and offers planting instructions in seven languages. Implemented by a youth organisation with assistance from government and social development programmes, the initiative aims to create sustainable subsistence gardens throughout South Africa.
- Trees for Global Benefit is a cooperative carbon offsetting scheme linking small scale landholder farmers in Uganda to the voluntary carbon market, combining carbon sequestration with rural livelihood improvements through small-scale, farmer-led, agro-/forestry projects while reducing pressure on natural resources in national parks and forest reserves.
- Building Bridges for Impact was the goal of the 2015 Africa Symposium. More than 500 entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, practitioners and policy makers examined emerging trends in the green and entrepreneurship space and looked into ways of constructing new bridges to amplify the impact of social and eco-enterprises. Special attention was also given to the role of eco-entrepreneurship in the Post-2015 agenda.
- Safi Organics provides organic fertiliser for rural smallholder farmers that contributes to soil carbon storage. The Safi Sarvi® blend is derived from various types of local organic farm waste, and is transformed into soil conditioner through low-cost production. The enterprise has won a SAG-SEED Award in 2016.
Anna Fälth from UN Women speaking at the SEED Africa Symposium 2014 in Nairobi about the role of UN Women in Sustainable Development, the support needs of social and environmental enterprises and her key take-aways from the event.
- Khomani San Kalahari Guiding Experiences is a community-based ecotourism enterprise on ‡Khomani San owned land within and next to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. It provides the community with sustainable employment opportunities through guided experiences that showcase the unique Kalahari Desert and the Bushmen people. The enterprise has won a SEED Award in 2011.
Waste to Food recycles food waste into high quality organic products. Commercial food waste is processed using industrial composting technology, the partially stabilised organics are then converted into high-quality earthworm compost.
All Women Recycling turns discarded plastic bottles into unique gift boxes, called kliketyklikboxes, which are sold internationally. In the production of the gift boxes the enterprise employs young women, primarily previously unemployed single mothers. All Women Recycling also contributes to cleaner townships by strengthening environmental awareness, particularly in schools which as a result set up collection points for the plastic bottles. The enterprise has won a SEED South Africa Award in 2014.
BanaPads Social Enterprise produces comfortable sanitary pads from natural agricultural waste materials. They are low-cost, 100% biodegradable, safe and hygienic, and made locally, following international standards. The objective of this enterprise is to reduce absenteeism of schoolgirls in rural and poor communities while creating a women’s entrepreneur network through which the pads are distributed and sustainable independent micro-businesses are established.
- The Rural Enterprise Network (REN) is a social marketing organization established in 2002 by networking rural farmers and producers in South of Sri Lanka. Their concept was developed based on the observation that access to markets and other BDS was lacking in rural micro-business interventions in the country. The REN model addresses these gaps, providing marketing-related services to increase market access for poor small-scale producers. The enterprise has won a SEED Awards in 2010.
Green Bio Energy is a social enterprise, which offers low-income Ugandan families access to cost-saving, eco-friendly and safe energy solutions. They produce and sell Briketi Charcoal Briquettes, as well as an own brand of energy-efficient stoves, Briketi Eco Stoves. The enterprise also provides individuals and organizations with trainings on micro-enterprise management or briquettes production, and sells equipments for small-scale briquettes production.
- YICE Uganda provides rural smallholder farmers in Uganda with flexible farm loans, inputs and training services to reduce hunger and poverty. With its network of local farm agents, YICE facilitates farmers’ access to bundled agricultural services at various levels of the farming value chain. The enterprise has won a SAG-SEED Award in 2016.
- A leading solar company in Burkina Faso, Sahelia Solar is now starting to provide solar energy systems to off-grid agro-processing plants managed by rural cooperatives. The pay-as-you go model provides people in rural areas with readily available, reliable, and affordable energy. The enterprise has won an SAG-SEED Award in 2016.
- SEED has opened the Call for Applications for the 2016 Switch Africa Green-SEED Awards, SEED Africa Awards and SEED Gender Equality Awards.
“Food & Trees for Africa” is a social enterprise addressing sustainable development through greening, climate change and food security programs. Started in 1990, FTFA has distributed over 3.8 million trees, facilitated the creation of over 2 500 organic food gardens for the poorest in South Africa and launched the first carbon calculator and the Carbon Protocol in this country.
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.
- 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.
- The SEED Initiative has just launched the 2014 SEED Awards to support entrepreneurs for sustainable development.
