News & Press Releases - The SEED Initiative

SEED AWARDS 2013 NOW OPEN!

2013-04-11T09:12:15Z

SEED Initiative has just launched the 2013 SEED Awards to support entrepreneurs for sustainable development.

We are seeking entries from innovative start-up entrepreneurs who aim to generate environmental, social and economic benefits at the local level in a country with a developing or emerging economy.

This year SEED will make available up to:

15 SEED Awards to enterprises in Ethiopia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda;
5 SEED Awards for enterprises in South Africa;
3 SEED Awards for South African enterprises in the provinces of Free State, Limpopo and KwaZulu Natal;
10 SEED Low Carbon Awards for enterprises in Colombia, India, Tanzania, Uganda and Viet Nam;
2 SEED Gender Equality Awards, for enterprises in other countries (except countries that are OECD or EU members).

Candidates can apply from 16 April, 16:00 CET and not later than 12 June 2013, 23:59 CET.

Final report on the 3-year study into the triple bottom line performance of social and environmental enterprises is now available at SEED

2013-03-21T16:50:34Z

Since 2009, SEED and its research partner, IISD, have conducted a three year study to increase knowledge and understanding about small-scale social and environmental enterprises and SEED is happy to announce that the final findings are now available.

Two key questions have driven the investigation:

Is it possible to determine whether and how such enterprises are making a contribution to social, environmental and economic progress within their communities?

and

What are the enabling factors and barriers to making that contribution?

Click here to read the findings.

SEED celebrates the success of women entrepreneurs on International Women’s Day

2013-03-08T14:53:05Z

Celebrating International Women’s Day, SEED is pleased to showcase the success of some of the many dedicated women entrepreneurs who are working towards a more sustainable future.

Promoting women-led or owned initiatives which instil gender equality and women’s empowerment is an important component of SEED’s work, and below are inspiring examples of some top SEED Award winning women entrepreneurs and their achievements.

Bernice Dapaah, Executive Director of the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative, 2010 SEED Winner and featured in the above photo, was selected as a fellow of the inaugural class of the Vital Voices Lead Fellowship Program. Last year she was invited to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Biodiversity and Natural Capital which includes relevant leaders from business, government, academia and civil society to address key global issues. She was also selected as a member of the prestigious World Entrepreneurship Forum and United Success having won the 2012 World Business and Development Award in Rio, the winner of the GIZ Impact Business Award 2011 and was the 2nd runner up of the 2012 International Road Federation InAroads Award and a 2012 Dubai International/UN Habitat Best Practice Award. The Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative seeks to contribute to lowering Ghana’s dependence on fossil fuel whiles increasing economic activities of rural Ghanaians by breaking the status quo in the development of a bicycle industry, training people with little or no education in the manufacturing of bamboo bikes and spearheading production of stable, reliable and cheaper bikes.

Lorna Rutto, founder of Ecopost and 2010 SEED Award Winner, was recognised today by the Guardian as one of the 25 top African women achievers. Backed by international and national NGOs, this initiative to recycle waste plastic into aesthetic, durable and environmentally-friendly fencing posts and consequently reduce plastic litter on streets and open fields offers an alternative fencing material to traditional wood. Through these efforts EcoPost contributes towards the conservation of forests, employs hundreds of Kenyans and is expected to create 100,000 new positions in the next 15 years. Read the full Guardian article.

Claire Reid Reel Gardening (Pty) Ltd is a start-up business specialising in hand-made vegetable seed strip products created and patented by Claire Reid, the company founder. Not only did the initiative win the 2010 SEED Award, the bronze International Green Award 2011 and the South African Breweries (SAB) Foundation Innovation Award in 2011, Claire Reid Reel Gardening also supports a Student Social Venture at the University of South Africa. Their mission is to improve the quality and performance of African university teams at these global student social business plan competitions, by hosting a practice pitch, and working with them on their business plans and polishing their presentations. With the help of their tutelage, the "Reel Gardening" team won the EMEA regional round of Global Social Venture Competition and was chosen out of 50 other teams at the London regional round of the Hult Prize for the opportunity to present their plans at the Clinton Global Initiative for a chance to win the final round.

SEED South Africa, a partnership between SEED and the Independent Development Trust (IDT) South Africa

2013-03-05T10:41:52Z

SEED SA is the inaugural SEED scheme at the country level created through a partnership with the Independent Development Trust (IDT). Progress is being made towards the promotion of social and environmental entrepreneurship within South Africa, further understanding the barriers faced by green entrepreneurs and building a closer relationship with government and policy makers.

SEED and IDT have partnered, through an MoU (established in December 2011) to further their shared goals and objectives with regard to the conservation, protection, enhancement and support of nature and natural resources, including biological diversity. The IDT is the implementing agent of SEED SA for the identification and promotion of grassroots social and environmental entrepreneurship in South Africa, and to stimulate the transition to the Green Economy in South Africa.

The IDT implements SEED SA based on the four SEED Initiative pillars which are
namely:

SEED Awards
Supporting SEED Winners
Identifying best practices and developing tools
Influencing policy

For more information regarding IDT and their many initiatives, please visit their website: http://www.idt.org.za

“Sustainable Development in Action” Post-Rio+20 Google+ Hangout - Tuesday, 12 February 2013, 12 PM (EST)

2013-02-05T09:46:23Z

Google+ Hangout on sustainable development post-Rio+20 - Join the conversation!

The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development and UNDESA will host the first instalment in the series of “Sustainable Development in Action” Google+ Hangouts Tuesday, 12 February at 12 PM EST.

This 20 minute live Q&A session on the United Nations Google+ account will allow anyone the opportunity to discuss the follow-up of the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development and connect with key experts, including panellists:

Nikhil Seth, Director of UN DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development
Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Coordinator for the Rio+20 conference
Kimo Goree, Vice-President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development Reporting Services (IISD)
Jacob Scherr, Director of global strategy and advocacy for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Participate in the discussion related to the major outcomes of Rio+20 and key processes that followed:

Tweet your questions to @SustDev using #SDinAction,
Post your questions on the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform Facebook page or
Register for one of the Sustainable Development Action Networks to join the conversation there.

SEED partners with the UNDP CLIMBIZ Initiative to launch the Black Sea Challenge for social and environmental entrepreneurs

2013-02-01T15:55:31Z

The UNDP Black Sea Climate and Business Initiative (CLIMBIZ) is a regional partnership focused on sustainable development and the green economy in the Black Sea area.

The CLIMBIZ Challenge aims to promote innovative environmental and social entrepreneurships which incorporate a sustainable element in their business model. By supporting small-scale and locally-driven projects, the CLIMBIZ Challenge offers opportunities to scale up or replicate sustainable activities in the Black Sea region.

The deadline for submissions to this year’s CLIMBIZ Challenge is 5 April 2013, please apply here.

SEED participates at the Rural Housing Loan Fund Annual Workshop

2012-11-01T17:26:11Z

SEED, the German Development Bank (KfW) jointly with the Rural Housing Loan Fund (RHLF) in South Africa and the Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance hosted a workshop in Centurion, South Africa, on 26 October: ‘Making sustainable energy solutions work for MFIs/SACCOs and their clients’.

Several SEED Alumni attended and were able to present their enterprises

2011 SEED winners Vivus is finalist of "She Will Innovate" competition - Vote to support this Initiative until 7 November 2012

2012-10-23T12:24:03Z

Vivus, the 2011 SEED Winner that has developed an innovative rural transportation system enabling the efficient collection of small quantities of crops and agricultural waste in remote areas and uses mobile phones to support disadvantaged women vendors in Ghana is a finalist in the Ashoka-Intel competition for technology solutions enriching the lives of girls : She Will Innovate" competition.

Intel Corporation and Ashoka Changemakers launched this online competition to find the world's most innovative solutions that equip girls and women with new digital technologies—enabling them to live healthier, smarter, and more meaningful lives.

To support this SEED winner in the running of becoming one of the three winners, you can vote until November 7, 2012: DEAL-OF-THE-DAY SMS FOR STREET FOOD WOMEN VENDORS IN GHANA

Three winners will each receive a cash prize of US $10,000.

To vote, please visit the website: http://www.changemakers.com/girltech

SEED is partner in the 15th International Business Forum in Pretoria 2012

2012-09-21T10:05:14Z

SEED is proud to be a partner in the 15th International Business Forum (IBF) in Pretoria, October 2012, which is part of the dialogue series “Investment Climate for Climate Investment - fostering business dynamics for inclusive low carbon growth"

implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and organized by GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.

The conference will provide a platform for success stories of innovative, inclusive business models tackling climate change. Entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, policy-makers and investors are invited to discuss their concepts and ideas in a public-private dialogue and jointly look for ways of scaling up innovative business solutions and cooperations.

Taking up the recommendations of Rio+20, the 15th International Business Forum will discuss challenges of climate investments from a business perspective and present practical business–led approaches and solutions.

During the IBF the achievements of the IMPACT Award Winners will be celebrated at a prestigious award ceremony, and SEED is proud that two SEED winners are amongst those awardees:

Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative, Ghana (2010 SEED Winner)
Solar Sisters, Uganda (2011 SEED Winner)

For more information, visit the website at:

http://www.giz.de/en/mediacenter/9159.html

https://gc21.giz.de/ibt/gc21/area=gc21/style=liny/paint=bizyb/en/usr/modules/gc21/ws-FLEXdialogue/info/ibt/ibf2012.sxhtml

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RIO+20: SEED and UNDESA join forces at the Partnership Forum on 20 June 2012

2012-06-15T10:07:26Z

Partnerships are considered one of the most participatory and effective mechanisms to implement sustainable development and enhance international cooperation.

A Partnerships Forum will be organized at Rio+20, which will consist of highly dynamic and interactive sessions to highlight the significant contributions of partnerships to the implementation of sustainable development.

The Partnerships Forum will be held from 20-22 June 2012 at at RioCentro ? Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Venue: Pavilion T (Major Groups Pavilion) - Room T-3.

On 20 June 2012, SEED and UNDESA will present the first session: Delivering Sustainable Development at the Entrepreneurial and Grassroots level: challenges, lessons learned and opportunities.
This session will ‘examine the role and elements of a new mechanism for budding entrepreneurs and grassroots partnerships to provide better coordinated support at the global, regional and national levels. A platform for social and environmental entrepreneurial partnerships to report on progress towards their goals and for showcasing outstanding contributions will also be explored’. Follow the event live and chat to share your views here.

Key Issues Expected to be discussed:

The role and contribution of SMMEs to sustainable development, including to youth employment.
The enabling factors and barriers for social and environmental SMMEs.
The types of partnerships that social and environmental SMMEs need - academia, civil society, media, government.
The possibility to establish a more effective mechanism for collecting and showcasing experience/ evidence on successful sustainable development partnerships involving entrepreneurs.
The exchange of information on ? who does what? and on ways to collaborate among stakeholders.
More relevant reporting mechanisms for entrepreneurs to showcase and inform on their work in implementing sustainable development.
Relevance of launching a collaborative platform to better coordinate support at the global, regional and national levels for entrepreneurs and grassroots partnerships.

Objectives:

Recap the last 10 years: lessons learned and challenges in the ability of partnerships to deliver sustainable development.
Look ahead to the next 10 years: enhancing the contribution of entrepreneurs, grass roots initiatives and other relevant stakeholders in delivering Rio+20 outcomes.
Discuss what spurs how entrepreneurial and grass roots partnerships and how they are constituted, what resources are needed during that process,
Focus on the needs of policy makers to share their experience in creating enabling conditions, frameworks, laws and incentives for SMMEs in their countries, and discuss what a platform for collaboration among policy makers might include
Consider how to bring together, for use by policy makers, the showcasing and evidence of the contributions of SMMEs to the goals of sustainable development, which could support the review of certain MDGs in 2015.
Discuss the development and launching of an enhanced platform which would help to identify areas for effective partnerships engaging entrepreneurs and grassroots initiatives as well as facilitate the access to capacity building institutions and funders (including all awards/reward and recognition opportunities). Such a platform should be accompanied by a tailored mechanism enabling partnerships to report on their accomplishments and needs. This could also serve to provide an evidence-base for policy makers for the delivery of sustainable development by Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises (SMMEs) post-Rio+20.

Session 1 will be held on 20 Jun 2012 - 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM, Pavilion T (Major Groups Pavilion) - Room T-3

SEED will also participate in the final session of the partnership forum: ‘Partnerships contributing to the Future we want’, This session will offer the opportunity for a forward-looking reflection, concrete guidance, and visionary perspectives on how partnerships can be best positioned to facilitate and expedite the implementation of agreements at Rio+20 as well as contribute to the post-2015 development agenda. The SEED’s Executive Director, Helen Marquard, will provide insights SEED's achievemnts, what social and environmental entrepreneurs need to scale up and SEED's plan for the future. You can also follow this session live here.

This final session will be held on 22 Jun 2012 - 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM, Pavilion T (Major Groups Pavilion) - Room T-3

Relevant resources:

SEED’s Executive Director speak about the importance of partnerships

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Full description of session 1: Delivering Sustainable Development at the Entrepreneurial and Grassroots level: challenges, lessons learned and opportunities.
SEED-DESA Session 1 - Concept Note
Programme of session 1: Delivering Sustainable Development at the Entrepreneurial and Grassroots level: challenges, lessons learned and opportunities
Full description final session (5) at the Partnerships forum