What SEED does

SEED (Supporting Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development) is a Berlin-headquartered non-profit initiative founded in 2002 during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, hosted and operationally managed by adelphi research gemeinnützige GmbH. It supports eco-inclusive small and growing enterprises (SMEs and MSMEs) across 41 countries in Africa and Asia — spanning biodiversity, clean energy, green technologies, sustainable agriculture, waste management, and water/sanitation/health — and has reached approximately 2,000 enterprises over 20+ years, with reported outcomes such as an 82.5% enterprise survival rate and 51% women-led participation in Southern Africa.

The portfolio comprises two interconnected program families. Direct Enterprise Support consists of SEED Starter (ideation-to-business-plan), SEED Replicator (model replication across geographies), SEED Catalyser (scale-up support), SEED Accelerator (intensive acceleration), and SEED Awards (recognition and tailored support). Ecosystem Building comprises Business Development Service+, Events & Workshops, and SEED Practitioner Labs for Climate Finance and Policy Prototyping, complemented by the SEED Library of publications, toolkits, workbooks, and case studies. SEED does not build proprietary technology; its "platform" is a methodology-driven service stack delivered through workshops, peer learning, and collaborative prototyping with institutional and hub partners.

SEED operates as a grant-funded non-profit providing services at no cost to participating enterprises. Revenue derives from grants and institutional funding from a multi-stakeholder partner base including adelphi, FAO (under the HASTEN project), UNDP, UNEP, IISD, SEI, ANDE, GO4SDGs, Swisscontact, GIZ, FSD Uganda (with UK Aid), UNFCCC, and regional hubs such as Instellar in Indonesia. Its go-to-market is event-driven and collaborative: programs are delivered directly to enterprises, through regional hub partners, and via ecosystem convenings (Africa Symposiums, National Dialogue Forums, Practitioner Labs, Mesh Collective events) that mobilize financial institutions, policymakers, NGOs, and investors around eco-inclusive entrepreneurship.

Name

SEED

Legal name

adelphi research gemeinnützige GmbH

Website

https://seed.uno

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SEED is a Berlin-based non-profit initiative, hosted by adelphi research, that supports ~2,000 eco-inclusive small and growing enterprises across 41 countries through capacity-building programs, climate finance prototyping, and UN/multilateral partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Eco-Inclusive Enterprise Support Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Development Finance, Guarantees & Blended Finance Programs (BPADABAM)

Keywords

• Eco-inclusive enterprise support
• Sustainable development programmes
• Green entrepreneurship incubation
• Climate finance capacity building
• MSME ecosystem development

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Institutional Funding: SEED is a non-profit organization that operates through grants and institutional funding from partners. The organization was launched during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and is hosted by adelphi research gGmbH, a non-profit organization based in Berlin.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SEED is a non-profit global partnership that supports eco-inclusive small and growing enterprises in developing economies through Direct Enterprise Support programmes (SEED Starter, Replicator, Catalyser, Accelerator, and Awards) and Ecosystem Building activities (Business Development Service+, SEED Events & Workshops, and Practitioner Labs on Climate Finance and Policy Prototyping). Programmes are delivered at no cost to selected enterprises and are funded through grants and institutional partnerships.

Product overview

SEED is an ecosystem support organization that operates a portfolio of interconnected programs designed to build the capacities of eco-inclusive enterprises at multiple stages of development. The core Direct Enterprise Support programs include SEED Starter (ideation to business plan), SEED Replicator (business model replication), SEED Catalyser (scale-up support), SEED Accelerator (intensive scaling), and SEED Awards (recognition and support). These are complemented by Ecosystem Building offerings including Business Development Service+, SEED Events & Workshops, and SEED Practitioner Labs focused on Climate Finance and Policy Prototyping. The SEED Library provides publications, toolkits, and workbooks that support these programs. Together, these programs form a comprehensive support ecosystem that progresses enterprises from start-up through scale-up while building the broader enabling environment for eco-inclusive entrepreneurship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SEED Starter

Quantifiable outcome

• 82.5% of supported enterprises remain in business (based on study of 80 enterprises in Southern Africa)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional and global.

• adelphi research gGmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partneradelphi is the SEED Hosting Partner, responsible for operational management of all SEED Programmes. adelphi is a non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany, recognized for non-profit purposes including environmental protection and international development. The organization has been supporting SEED since its founding during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development.
• SEED Founding PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEED was launched during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg by founding partners who established the organization and continue to provide strategic guidance and support.
• Instellar IndonesiaregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstellar is a purpose-driven company that helps build impactful, sustainable, and scalable businesses in Indonesia. They host the SEED Hub in Indonesia and at the policy level jointly advocate with local partners to link public procurement processes with sustainable SMEs to strengthen local green markets.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)globalStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAO collaborates with SEED under the HASTEN project to strengthen youth- and women-led agrifood enterprises through business incubation workshops. SEED facilitates workshops covering business growth strategies including value proposition, market analysis, scaling, impact planning, and financing.
• SEI (Stockholm Environment Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEI collaborates with SEED as part of the Green Recovery Forum partnership along with ANDE and other partners. The forum highlights MSMEs' potential and contribution to green recovery and identifies support needed for MSMEs to build back the economy.
• ANDE (Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerANDE collaborates with SEED as part of the Green Recovery Forum partnership along with SEI and other partners to support green and social MSMEs in driving green recovery.
• MeshregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerMesh is a Norwegian startup ecosystem organization launching event series connecting Nordic founders with international venture investors. SEED partners with Mesh for events in Copenhagen and Oslo to bridge local Nordic startups with international capital.
• SwisscontactregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwisscontact collaborated with SEED as primary partner for the 2018 SEED Practitioner Labs Climate Finance in Uganda, bringing together practitioners to prototype climate finance solutions.
• UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre – KampalaregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNFCCC RCC Kampala partnered with SEED for the 2018 Practitioner Labs Climate Finance in Uganda to jointly develop innovative climate finance products.
• FSD UgandaregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSD Uganda partnered with SEED for the 2018 Practitioner Labs Climate Finance in Uganda with UK Aid support to prototype climate finance solutions.
• GIZregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIZ partnered with SEED through VNV Advisory for the 2018 SEED Practitioner Labs Climate Finance in India to develop climate finance products.
• UNDPglobalStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNDP Thailand serves as strategic partner for SEED Practitioner Labs for Policy Prototyping in Thailand. SEED also collaborates with UNDP through the Green Recovery Forum.
• GO4SDGsglobalStrategic or Co-development PartnerGO4SDGs collaborated with SEED to jointly build on collective experiences formulating lessons learned and critical next steps for the Sustainable SME Action Agenda for 2030.
• UNEPglobalStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNEP collaborates with SEED and GO4SDGs on the Sustainable SME Action Agenda and joint initiatives to empower micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
• IISD (International Institute for Sustainable Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIISD has worked closely with SEED since 2007 on a research programme to increase technical knowledge and understanding about small-scale social and environmental enterprises.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Shell Foundation: Shell Foundation funds and supports emerging-market social enterprises tackling climate, energy access, and sustainable mobility, with a portfolio-mentoring model that closely resembles SEED's Catalyser/Accelerator programmes.
• Acumen: Acumen invests patient capital and provides business support to early-stage enterprises tackling poverty across energy, agriculture, and health - mirroring SEED's eco-inclusive enterprise thesis while adding a financial-capital layer to non-financial support.
• ANDE (Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs): ANDE is a global network of organisations that supports small and growing businesses in developing economies - directly overlapping with SEED's eco-inclusive SME focus, sharing partnerships (e.g., the Green Recovery Forum) and operating a similar member-driven capacity-building model.
• Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI): Core SEED partner in the Green Recovery Forum working at the intersection of MSMEs, green recovery, and climate finance - similar applied-research and capacity-building mandate focused on environmental entrepreneurship in developing economies.
• International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD): Core SEED research partner since 2007 producing evidence on social and environmental enterprises, IISD is a comparable think-and-do tank that combines policy research, capacity building, and enterprise support in the same green-economy space.
• BiD Network: BiD Network supports entrepreneurs in emerging markets through matchmaking, training, and investor connections - directly comparable to SEED's role in linking eco-inclusive SMEs with ecosystem stakeholders and capital.

Broad incumbents

• Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI): GGGI supports governments and SMEs on green growth policy and finance in developing economies - a broader institutional counterpart delivering climate-aligned capacity building similar to SEED's Practitioner Labs and policy work.
• British International Investment (BII): UK development finance institution investing in emerging-market businesses across climate, infrastructure and inclusive growth; operates at much larger scale and balance sheet, but pursues a similar eco-inclusive SME agenda alongside partners SEED also works with (e.g., FSD Uganda, ANDE).
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): UNDP is both a SEED strategic partner (UNDP Thailand) and a broader development actor funding SME climate-resilience programmes; its work overlaps with SEED's Practitioner Labs: Policy Prototyping and ecosystem-building mandates.
• Omidyar Network: Impact investment and philanthropic vehicle funding early-stage enterprises tackling social and environmental issues; comparable in mission to SEED but provides more direct capital alongside its non-financial support.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/seed_sustdev
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/seedinitiative
• Facebookfacebook.com/SEED.uno
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seed-uno

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments9 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SEED