UNEP MEDIA INVITATION: SEED Awards Briefing
NAIROBI, Kenya, September 8, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- UNEP MEDIA INVITATION: SEED Awards Briefing
What: SEED Awards Media Briefing
Who: Judy Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources (TBC);
Manu Chandaria, Comcraft Group Chairman;
Helen Marquard, SEED Executive Director;
SEED Award Alumnus Evans Wadongo;
2014 SEED Award Winners
When: 10 September 2014, 14:00 h
Where: Safari Park Hotel, VIP Rooms 1 & 2 (above the Pavilion) Nairobi, Kenya
RSVP to: [email protected]
Small, micro and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs) are the backbone of society, accounting for about 90 per cent of businesses and more than 50 per cent of employment around the globe. Women own at least 30 per cent of SMMEs worldwide.
These enterprises are engines of economic growth and sources of new employment. They can nimbly adapt to new technologies and respond quickly to changing market needs. In fact, most innovation happens at the SMME level, but the right conditions are needed to create, commercialize and scale up innovative solutions.
Meanwhile, it has been proven that eco-innovative companies – those with sustainability integrated into their DNA – show an average 15 per cent increase in annual growth in an otherwise flat market.
Founded by UNEP, UNDP and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and supported by a group of intergovernmental partners, SEED works to build on the potential of social and green enterprises in building inclusive and green economies, which will be a critical component of the post-2015 development agenda.
This year, the SEED Awards – the world's premiere award for small and micro-sized eco-startups – once again recognize businesses that tackle local and global problems with eco-innovative solutions.
From aflatoxin-free peanut butter and recycled briquettes to solar-powered computers, this year's winners are great examples of how small and micro enterprises are already making the Green Economy a reality. They prove that environmental challenges can be solved in a way that creates economic and social benefits.
Join Kenya's Manu Chandaria, Chairman of the Comcraft Group, Cabinet Secretary for Environment Prof. Judy Wakhungu and 2014 SEED Award winners and SEED alumni for a media briefing to learn more about SMMEs, eco-innovation and how they can support the transition to an inclusive Green Economy in the post-2015 era.