Nairobi, 16 April 2013 - Innovative and inspiring social and environmental entrepreneurs can win a tailor-made support package to help expand their business, as part of the 2013 SEED Awards, which open today.
The SEED Awards aim to develop the most promising social and environmental start-up enterprises in emerging economies, developing and least developed countries.
SEED Award winners will receive expert advice on developing their business plans, take part in specially-designed workshops to enhance their skills, and benefit from high-level profiling of their enterprises through an international network of businesses, governments and development institutions.
In scaling up and replicating their activities, these entrepreneurs contribute to making the green economy a reality at the grassroots. They generate employment and new livelihoods, train local communities, and use natural resources in a sustainable manner.
This year there are several categories of awards, for which SEED receives support from the European Union, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the government of Flanders, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the international law firm Hogan Lovells.
For the 2013 cycle, 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).
SEED Award Winners in the previous round of SEED Awards in 2011 included enterprises that transformed groundnut shells into fuel briquettes in The Gambia; developed solar ovens in Burkina Faso; trained and employed street youth to collect waste materials in Ghana, which they then transformed into handmade designer products; and employed women to produce aloe-based skin care products in Kenya. The gender equality prize was won by a women's environment committee, supported by the local municipality, which organised waste collection and recycling in Nepal.
Details about these and other SEED Winners are at www.seedinit.org.
The deadline for applications is 12 June 2013, 23:59 Central European Time (CET).
Applications can be filled in online at the SEED Initiative website www.seedinit.org or the application form can be downloaded and emailed to seedawards2013@seedinit.org. Applicants may also contact the SEED Initiative by email or phone (+49 30 89 00 068 99) in case they are not able to submit their application electronically.
For more information please contact:
Constance Hybsier, Email: constance.hybsier@seedinit.org
Mellab Shiluli, Tel: +254 721 546 406. E-mail: mellab.shilluli@unep.org
About the SEED Initiative
SEED was founded by UNEP, UNDP, and IUCN at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. From April 1st 2013, SEED's Host Partner has been Adelphi Research, based in Germany although SEED continues to work together with the previous host organization, the UN Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).
Partners in the SEED Initiative, in addition to the Founding Partners, are the governments of Flanders, Germany, India, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States of America; the European Union; Conservation International; and SEED's corporate partner, Hisense.
The SEED Initiative is a global partnership for action on the Green Economy.
It identifies and supports promising small-scale start-up social and environmental entrepreneurs around the globe, entrepreneurs that while working towards a greener economy also tackle poverty, marginalisation and social exclusion.
SEED provides these social entrepreneurs with know-how and networks, taking the lessons learnt at local level up to decision-makers to promote evidence-based policymaking in the green economy.
For more information: www.seedinit.org
