Green Business Development Activity

SWITCH Africa Green grant awards ceremony in South Africa

15 December 2015

Pretoria, South Africa

Overview

The South Africa SWITCH Africa Green grants were officially awarded to the six successful applicants from South Africa in a ceremony held on 15 December 2015 at the Southern Sun Hotel in Pretoria, South Africa. During the second call for proposals, 14 concept notes were received from South Africa and, after preliminary screening and evaluation, six organizations from South Africa qualified for SWITCH Africa Green grants (see table). The beneficiaries received more than USD 1.4 million for various projects related to the green economy and sustainable development.

The projects in South Africa focus on eco-labelling, sustainable ecosystems, energy efficiency and sustainable agriculture in the meat sector. The grants were presented by Mr. Marcus Cornaro, European Union Ambassador to South Africa, supported by Mr. Walid Badawi, Country Director for the United Nations Development Programme, Mr. Albi Modise, Chief Director of Communications at the Department of Environmental Affairs, and Mr. Tlou Ramaru, Chief Policy Advisor, Sustainable Development, at the Department of Environmental Affairs.

“I hope that all of the grant projects will contribute to more competitive businesses in South Africa and will be able to provide recommendations to policy-makers about the best ways to achieve sustainable consumption and production”, said Mr. Cornaro during the presentation of the awards.

SWITCH Africa Green grants awarded in South Africa

Grantee	Project title	Grant award
Khusel’indalo South Africa	Meat Naturally Initiative: Embedding sustainability in South Africa’s emerging red meat sector	$250 000
Living lands	Collaborating to facilitate investments and shifts to a green economy that can improve social well-being and the provision of ecosystems services in the Port Elizabeth western catchment area	$250 000
Proudly South African	Awareness creation and capacity-building for ecolabelling in agriculture, agri-processing, manufacturing and integrated waste management in South Africa	$250 000
Fundacion Sustalde	Sustainable production and commercialization strategies in the agrifood sector in South Africa	$248 033
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership	Management of sustainable energy production from integrated waste management and agri-processing system	$250 000
Fairtrade label-South Africa	Promoting SCP in South African agricultural value chain	$250 000

SWITCH-Africa Green Programme is implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme with the financial support of the European Union. The contents of this website are the sole responsibility of the project partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.