Green Tech Company received SEED Award 2011 for Environmental Solution And Social Efforts

GREEN TECH MD 

PRESS STATEMENT; Green Tech Company Ltd, working in partnership with Global Unification, Ngyanya Killing Support Group, MOBSE/SAFMU, The Green Mamba Garden Lounge and Green Mamba Experiences, was announced as one of the 34 winners of the prestigious international SEED Award in December 2011. 

The SEED Initiative (www.seedinit.org) is founded by UNEP, UNDP and IUCN to support small scale enterprises heading for sustainability. Green Tech, as the first Gambian company, was awarded as exceptional social and environmental start-up enterprise. The award provides recognition, capacity building and linkages to potential cooperation partners and support programs. 

Thus it is accompanied with a capacity building programm, which consists of remote tutoring, an in-country capacity building workshop and a symposium and workshop around the awarding ceremony. Green Tech was represented by the MD from 29th-31st of March, in the enriching program in Johannesburg.

The MD presented Green Tech’s innovation concept of groundnut shell briquettes in specially designed fuel efficient stoves, as a response to the up-winding national household energy crises and environmental challenges. The briquettes are well affordable and can be used as alternatives to firewood or charcoal in for cooking and heating purposes in households and industries. 

The new cooking unit is a simple but efficient grass root approach to reduce the pressure on the forest for fuel wood, whilst saving the user finances, effort and time. At the same time the local production of briquettes and stoves creates new employment opportunities.

Green Tech’s MD also had the chance to benefit from lessons learned from other awarded initiatives around the world, some of them having operated for long term. As a private business, which just started operation in July 2011 without any external funding, the awarding and information exchange ensured Green Tech’s management to be on the right track of building a sustainable business.

 The MD’s overall impression: “Gradual self-development seems to be the key to success of such ventures. At the other hand the establishment of sustainable businesses needs to be accelerated before we face irreparable environmental, social or economic impacts, in our case deforestation, climate change and poverty.  “

Green Tech will receive a representative of the SEED Initiative for a two days capacity building workshop among Green Tech and the initial partners End of April.