SEED victory for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is one of the 30 countries that won this year’s SEED awards for Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development given by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Sri Lanka was recognised for its Rural Enterprise Network (REN) project, which aims at linking small-scale farmers to input-output markets through improved product quality, access to market information and the establishment of a common brand.

By organising producers in a network of organic agro and food processing enterprises, the farmers will benefit from joint marketing services, a statement by SEED.

The SEED Award is the flagship programme of the SEED Initiative, a partnership founded by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNEP, and IUCN.

The international award recognises innovation in local, environmentally-responsible, and sustainable entrepreneurship. It identifies inspiring social and environmental entrepreneurs whose businesses can help meet sustainable development challenge.

The SEED Initiative helps entrepreneurs to scale-up their activities aiming to boost local economies and tackle poverty, while promoting the sustainable use of resources and ecosystems.

The UNEP will honour all the SEED winners at award ceremonies in their home countries. Sri Lanka will receive a package of individually-tailored support for its business as its prize.

The package includes access to relevant expertise and technical assistance, meeting new partners and building networks, developing business plans and identifying sources of finance. SEED will furthermore contribute towards meeting each winner’s most immediate needs by contributing to a jointly developed support plan. (www.colombopage.com)