Resilience is important to business, especially for those that are small in size or just starting out. Why? Because a small starter enterprise usually has built up fewer resources and network to withstand financial or other hardship for a long period of time. Yet, its strength is also in its size: its flexibility. This elasticity allows for a quick response, a shift in tactics and making changes easily. Here Jaruwan shares the five fundamental factors that allow her business to endure and adapt.
A few innovative SEED-supported enterprises are coming up with resourceful ways to not only keep themselves afloat but also to solve the problems their communities are facing due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Flexibility and resilience are essential when it comes to adversity. “There are always opportunities,” says Gabriel Okello, the enterprise’s business development manager. “A crisis presents opportunities for innovation. Whether it is “mobile money solutions, combining deliveries or tracking and data-driven solutions.”
The current global lockdown, finds many of us working from home, limiting interactions with team members, customers and partners and reducing new business opportunities. Henry Othieno, CEO of Tusafishe, shares some inspiring strategies on how Tusafishe is nonetheless making the most of the situation, and may just come out stronger from the lockdown.
COVID-19 is affecting all of us around the globe, but economic and financial support is especially needed in emerging and developing economies. Here you will find a list of funding resources available for SMEs across the world suffering economic disruption due to the pandemic.
Crowdfunding is one way businesses are staying afloat during these difficult times, to mitigate their COVID-related financial losses and hopefully bounce back stronger. Here is a list of campaigns launched by enterprises. These campaigns aim to provide financial and non-financial support to health facilities and people in vulnerable conditions. We invite you to support these if you can!
How can you capture the attention of your audience and deliver a strong message to alight their interest? Read below for some tips and tricks!
In addition to fundraising tips shared by SEED supported enterprises in Malawi, Tione Kaonga, BDS provider and SEED Coordinator in Malawi shares his perspectives on conducting successful fundraising for eco-inclusive SMEs.
As part of Germany and UNEP’s commitment to step up their efforts to achieve the SDGs, the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and UNEP launched the initiative ‘Global Opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals’ (or in short: GO for SDGs) in January 2020.
Business was looking up for Fadzai Munyuki and her team at Kudiwa Waste & Energy Solutions earlier this year. Then operations had to stop suddenly following the orders of the Zimbabwean government, who like many others, initiated a 21 day restricted movement order as a response to the corona virus.
SEED quality training contributes to the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malawi. This helps increase local livelihoods in the green sector and tackles Malawi’s pressing issue of unemployment, especially among the youth population.
SEED ToTs grants business development service (BDS) advisors access to SEED tools,network and hub, helping you connect with peers, government and corporate actors, and inviting you to help build the ecosystem in the country.
The use of and access to data allows enterprises to make better and faster decisions. Data can help reveal patterns and trends in human behaviour of relevance inside and outside the sectors enterprises operate in. Read about why ListenField embraces digital innovation and how it has helped them scale-up their impact.
In many emerging countries like Ghana, reducing the impact of COVID-19 and charting the path to a regenerative economy during and after the pandemic may not lie in big financial stimulus packages for all types of businesses in general. A targeted and tailored support for eco-inclusive SMEs that are more concerned about social and environmental issues is essential.
The Covid-19 pandemic has jolted national governments the world over to provide emergency support to vulnerable parts of society and the economy. SEED has recently observed that many eco-inclusive MSMEs are pivoting their business models to stay relevant. However, challenges with working capital and the high cost of doing business show a need for a safety net or relief to MSMEs.
On 6th May, Mr Tlou Ramaru, Chief Director of Climate Change Adaptation in the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), welcomed enterprises, financial institutions, policy-makers, donors, and business development service providers to a Pitching Session during the online SEED South Africa Symposium 2020. This Pitching Session brought together stakeholders who have been actively designing policy and financial instruments to support the start-up and scale-up of climate-smart and socially inclusive enterprises in South Africa.
On July 1st, Lewis Akenji, Executive Director of SEED, participated in a webinar that showcased the work that SEED and other organisations are currently doing to build a green, fair future for Africa. The webinar was part of the African Forum on Green Economy series of webinars that ran from April to July 2020.
To assess the status quo and future outlook of what COVID-19 means for BDS providers in India, SEED India Hub invited BDS providers to take part in a virtual co-creation session. During the co-creation session that took place on 28th May 2020, BDS providers identified several challenges that both enterprises and BDS providers face due to COVID-19 and prototyped novel solutions addressing persistent challenges.
While the coronavirus pandemic presents enormous health and economic challenges, there are also opportunities to jumpstart economies and rebuild societies through green recovery plans that are aligned with the 2030 Agenda. This was the main takeaway of a dialogue that took place at Recovering better: Global opportunities for jumpstarting the real economy #GO4SDGs, a side event at the 2020 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF 2020).
Upon reflection, Kenya based Jackline Lang'at feels she may have given up too quickly. The 2016 Award winner was piloting the construction of eco-friendly, durable roads while working with women and youth, when elections hit, cashflow stalled and dedication wavered. Now four years on, Jackline is looking back on her failure but keen to launch a new venture. We caught up with her to learn from her experience, a timely discussion in the context of the COVID-19 crisis and its risk to the survival of many small businesses.
SMEs make up a significant portion of ASEAN economies and communities. Despite being impacted negatively by the pandemic, they are also key in driving local green and inclusive growth. The new Green Recovery Ecosystem Builder Programme is tailored for participants who lead programmes or departments and are responsible for the successful implementation of enterprise support services.
To better understand what resilience means for MSMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic, SEED interviewed 30 eco-inclusive enterprises. Unsurprisingly, MSMEs have been strongly affected by the economic shock of the pandemic. From these interviews, SEED has outlined the six critical factors for protecting the future of your enterprise.
Violet Matiru grew up without electricity on a farm at the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, an aspect of her life that led her to want to better the environment around her. From using kerosene lamps and lighting a fire every day with firewood for a cup of tea before school, she decided to support herself and her community by launching the Dagoretti Market Biogas Latrine. It has since moved from a core business of converting human waste from paid for latrines for market goers, to biogas to be reused for cooking and heating water, to other environmentally and socially relevant activities.
SEED is supporting enterprise resilience in the context of COVID-19. Informed by a series of interviews with 30 SEED-supported enterprises conducted in early 2020, SEED launched a toolkit, workshop series for eco-inclusive enterprises, as well as a Training of Trainers for Business Development Services (BDS) providers across Africa and Asia to offer much-needed support.
On 29 September 2020, SEED’s Executive Director Lewis Akenji joined a panel of experts to talk innovations in sustainable materials across sectors. In this webinar, hosted by GGKP, a platform for green practitioners, multiple SEED supported enterprises were showcased.
EcoPlastile Ltd, an eco-inclusive enterprise working with youth and women to collect and process waste plastics into low-cost, durable timber substitutes, has been declared a winner for Next Innovation with Japan (NINJA) Business Innovation Challenge in response to COVID-19.
On 28 October 2020, SEED’s Executive Director Lewis Akenji moderated a webinar regarding the role of businesses in tackling single-use plastics and general trends and challenges across Asia and Europe.
On 3 November 2020, SEED’s Head of Communications Linde Wolters moderated a workshop at the Sankalp Global Summit on A Green Recovery: Building Resilience for Eco-Inclusive MSMEs after COVID-19.
While hybrid partnerships come with their challenges, enterprises and large organisations alike agree that partnerships are key to leveraging the innovation and agility of social enterprises in order to solve the world’s inequalities. P.ACT from SEED and MIT D-Lab levels the playing field for more equitable partnerships.
Workshops are an important format for business development services (BDS) providers to deliver support services to eco-inclusive enterprises. However, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and related measures, such as lockdowns and curfews, BDS providers have had to adjust and reconceptualise the workshop experience.
