Nairobi, 05 July 2011
- Social and environmental entrepreneurs
who can demonstrate innovation, leadership
and sustainability have the chance to win
expert assistance and support for their
sustainable development initiatives in the
2011 SEED Awards.
The SEED Initiative
- hosted by the UN Environment Programme's
World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)
- is a global partnership for action on
the Green Economy. The annual SEED Awards
help to develop the most promising social
and environmental start-ups in emerging
economies and developing countries.
SEED Award winners will
receive expert advice on developing their
business plans, take part in tailor-made
workshops to enhance their skills and benefit
from high-level profiling of their initiatives
through the SEED Initiative's international
network of businesses, governments and development
institutions.
By helping entrepreneurs
to scale-up their activities, the SEED Initiative
aims to boost local economies and tackle
poverty, while promoting the sustainable
use of resources and ecosystems.
As in previous years,
entrepreneurs in developing and emerging
economies across the globe can apply for
a SEED award. In addition, as part of an
EU funded project, specific awards will
be made available to initiatives in seven
pilot countries in Africa: Burkina Faso,
Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal and
South Africa.
This year, one special
SEED Gender Equality Award will also be
made available to initiatives that are women-led
or owned, and prioritise gender equality
or women's empowerment as a core objective.
The full list of available
2011 SEED Awards is as follows:
•up to 14 awards for
initiatives in South Africa;
•up to 20 awards for initiatives in Burkina
Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal;
•and up to 5 awards, including the 2011
Gender Equality Award, for initiatives in
other countries (except countries that are
OECD members).
Previous SEED Award
Winners have included, among others, an
initiative in Kenya that turns waste into
fencing posts; a bamboo bike producer and
a producer of baskets made from leftover
plastic and clothes in Ghana; an initiative
in Sri Lanka that links small-scale farmers
to the market via a unified brand; a partnership
in China producing solar concentrators that
harness the sun's energy to provide portable
heat; an initiative that provides small
landholders with a set of agricultural tools
in a canvas backpack and a business initiative
in Colombia headed by a local NGO that uses
fruit and pulp as ingredients for the local
cosmetics and food industries.
The deadline for applications
is 22nd August 2011, 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 seedawards2011@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.
About the SEED Initiative
SEED was founded by
UNEP, UNDP, and IUCN at the 2002 World Summit
on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
Partners in the SEED
Initiative in addition to the founding partners
are the governments of 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
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.
