Promoting Entrepreneurship – The Climate-Smart Way

Innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can be drivers of climate change mitigation and adaptation. This project recognizes outstanding climate-smart SMEs with awards, provides them with business development support, and works with service providers and financiers to improve funding and financial instruments for them.

In emerging economies, SMEs make up 40% of GDP and account for 70% of newly created jobs. They are key to the transition to a just, inclusive and green economy. Countless SMEs in emerging economies bring forward innovative business models that show great potential for mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects. But their innovations lack recognition. Also, many of these enterprises are both too big for micro credit schemes and too small and risky for banks and private equity firms.

This is where the adelphi-project “SEED - Financing and capacity building for micro and small climate-smart enterprises” stepped in.

The SEED-Story

SEED was founded in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg by UN Environment, UNDP and IUCN as a global partnership for action in the field of sustainable development and the green economy. As the hosting partner of SEED, adelphi carries out all its projects. The International Climate Initiative (IKI) of Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) is the financing partner of this project.