Through the SEED Awards, UNEP aims to identify inspiring examples of partnership-based enterprises that can help meet sustainable development challenges.
SEED Awards winners receive expert advice on developing their business plans, take part in tailor-made workshops and benefit from high-level profiling of their initiatives through link-ups with SEED's international network.
5 July 2011: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced the opening of applications for the 2011 SEED Awards. The annual competition, run by the SEED Initiative, which is hosted by UNEP, aims to identify and help develop the most promising social and environmental start-ups in emerging and developing countries.
Through the SEED Awards, UNEP aims to identify inspiring examples of partnership-based enterprises that can help meet sustainable development challenges. SEED Awards winners receive expert advice on developing their business plans, take part in tailor-made workshops and benefit from high-level profiling of their initiatives through link-ups with SEED’s international network. Entrepreneurs from developing and emerging economies can apply for a SEED award. This year, one special SEED Gender Equality Award will be granted to initiatives that are women-led or owned, and prioritize gender equality or women’s empowerment as a core objective.
In 2011, the following SEED awards are offered: up to 14 awards for initiatives in South Africa; up to 20 awards for initiatives in Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal; and up to five awards, including the 2011 Gender Equality Award, for initiatives in other countries. Applications should be submitted by 22 August 2011.
Previous SEED Award Winners have included, among others, the following initiatives: turning waste into fencing posts; producing baskets made from leftover plastic and clothes; and producing solar concentrators that harness the sun’s energy to provide portable heat. [UNEP Press Release]