South African SEED Award winners

South Africa: The Good News    Translate This Article
7 May 2012

Five start-up entrepreneurs from South Africa have received the prestigious SEED Award, founded by UNEP, UNDP and IUCN. These initiatives were selected from over 450 applications originating from 75 countries worldwide because of their innovation, their potential to scale up, and their ability to simultaneously create economic, social and environmental benefits and therefore to help meet sustainable development challenges in South Africa.

The SEED International Jury selected the following initiatives:

Thrive

Thrive is a non-government organisation partnering with governmental and research institutions to start up entrepreneurial triple-bottom line (the economic, ecological, and social criteria for measuring organizational and societal success) spin-offs in the areas of waste, local food, water, energy, and biodiversity and producing tangible environmental benefits while at the same time building capacity, creating jobs and generating income for local communities. For more information, visit www.thrive.org.za

Everpix-ACT-SA communities: natural tree products and community resource management

Everpix-ACT-SA communities: natural tree products and community resource management is a community-based public-private partnership that aims to augment rural income and incentivise tree planting by manufacturing and marketing a portfolio of products from indigenous trees grown by local communities, such as Marula nut oil. For more information, visit everpix.getafricaonline.com/

Why Honey?

Why Honey? is a start-up aiming to increase an insufficient local bee population and building a fair-trade supply chain for honey and apiculture products by training women bee-keepers to become micro-entrepreneurs, and giving them assistance in organising themselves into cooperatives. The initiative will also handle beehive construction, processing and the sale of the honey. For more information, visit www.whyhoney.co.za

The Development of a Khomani San Cultural and Nature Guiding Enterprise and Association

The Development of a Khomani San Cultural and Nature Guiding Enterprise and Association is a partnership of local non-government organisations and local government authorities who support an eco-tourism enterprise that employs members of the local indigenous community. For more information, visit www.khomanisan.com

Imai Farming Cooperative

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 initiative also encourages organic farming.

The five winners were celebrated, together with 30 other SEED Winners, at an International Awards Ceremony in South Africa following the SEED Green Economy Symposium.

Attended by representatives from the United Nations, government, business, civil society and academia, the five initiatives received their certificates from Hastings Chikoko, the Head of IUCN in South Africa and were congratulated by Lucy Morassutti, National Sales Director for Hisense, South Africa, SEED's corporate sponsor of the awards ceremony.

The event generated wide recognition of the five initiatives and drew attention to their products and to their needs. Helen Marquard, Executive Director of the SEED Initiative, said: 'The International Awards Ceremony for the SEED Winners is a celebration of the achievements of these innovative and visionary entrepreneurs. It is also a platform to showcase the SEED Winners nationally and internationally and so help them to find new partners, especially national institutions and organisations who could support them in growing further.'

All SEED Winners receive a tailored package of support which includes assistance with business and financial planning; access to relevant expertise and technical assistance; a one-to-one management-focused workshop and an introduction to potential new partners and networks. In addition, SEED makes a financial contribution towards the initiative's most urgent needs.

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