UN launches innovation competition for social start-ups
Ms Elizabeth Mbogo of Botanic Treasures displays some of their products. The startup was among last year’s winners of the SEED awards. PHOTO | WILLIAM OERI
The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched this year’s SEED awards which seek to recognise innovative social start-ups.
The competition seeks to award small scale entrepreneurs who integrate social and environmental benefits into their business models.
Entrepreneurs from Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda are eligible to apply for a chance to be among the 15 innovations that the two UN agencies will award.
“SEED is based on the understanding that the promotion of social and environmental enterprises is pivotal to a world of flourishing communities where entrepreneurship drives sustainable development,” organisers of the awards said in a statement.
“SEED’s comprehensive programme triggers the full potential of market-based mechanisms to avert environmental degradation and tackle social problems.”
The winners will benefit from six months of business support during which they will be trained on developing better businesses. They will also get access to international networks of businesses, governments and development institutions.
Took home two awards
The deadline for application is March 21 and winners will be unveiled at a two-day conference to be held in Nairobi beginning September 28.
Last year, Kenya took home two awards in the sustainable agriculture sector and green technology categories after Botanic Treasures and Kidogo Early Childhood Centres won respectively.
The two are social startups recognised for their innovative businesses which curb sustainable development challenges. Botanic Treasures employs over 1,000 individuals across the value chain, providing economic stability for rural communities.
The business teams up with small scale farmers and uses traditional techniques to grow Moringa oleifera trees, processes the plant and markets health food products nationally and internationally.
The Kidogo Early Childhood Centres, which took home the gender equality category award, offers high-quality, affordable and safe childcare options for families living in urban slums — allowing mothers and caregivers to work and attend school.
The centres also support a local micro-financing programme which provides local women with a packaged business idea to start or grow their own micro-businesses in childcare and offers employment opportunity to women.
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