Growing Green - A Food & Trees for Africa Enterprise Development Initiative

Are you struggling to invest your ED funds? Do you need to maximise your ED points and want to know that you are investing in a sustainable programme?

Food & Trees for Africa has operated as a non profit company successfully for the past 22 years. In the process many unemployed and disadvantaged community members have been supported to develop skills, improve their lives and most often also the lives of their families and communities, as well as their environments. FTFA has long considered its programmes and projects to be enterprise development initiatives and many of FTFA’s corporate social investment funders have recognised this too and have encouraged FTFA to develop this aspect of the social enterprise.

Now, to formalise this FTFA has launched Growing Green, its Enterprise Development initiative that incorporates four of our six key programmes: Farmer Eco Enterprise Development (FEED), Bamboo for Africa, Trees for Homes and Food Gardens for Africa. Each programme affords effective yet unique opportunities to invest in grassroots entrepreneurs (ecopreneurs).

With 22 years of greening experience, FTFA supports, guides and most importantly sustains ecopreneurs through the difficult initial stages of their business.

Working in barren, under resourced, poverty stricken areas with high unemployment, Growing Green ED programmes not only provide fundamental business and agricultural skills but livelihood development as well. In a country with gross unemployment, increasing food insecurity and vast degraded environments, this form of enterprise development is vital.

Assisted through enterprise development investments from various companies (including some wishing to offset their carbon footprint while simultaneously meeting their ED requirements), Growing Green through Bamboo for Africa and FEED has already equipped over 100 previously unemployed community members with basic planting, farming and business skills and facilitated the formation of several co operatives.

FEED offers immediate ED as emerging organic farmers are taught to develop the land, plant, harvest and sell produce. ED benefits for these new organic farmers are enhanced over time as they learn to process and distribute produce to market, run packhouses and more. Bamboo for Africa includes not only the planting skills at the outset but infrastructure development skills as well. The ED benefits from the Bamboo for Africa programme are multiplied greatly in year four after planting when this miraculous plant is harvested and processed through one of its 1 200 known uses.

All Growing Green ED programmes are required to be environmentally as well as economically sustainable. It is for this reason that all investments are guaranteed to be developed into projects with long-term sustainability.

By investing in Growing Green ED you are investing not only in successful businesses and individuals, but in the environment, climate change action, social upliftment,and thus our common future.

 

Earning enterprise development points

Growing Green ED meets all your company's ED requirements in a clear, effective and simple to use manner.
If you are interested in working with us, please contact Jeunesse Park: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 011 784 6399 or 082 900 1738 for more information.

 

ED POINTS BASED ON BEE SCORECARD:

 

FAQs

Q: Who are the beneficiaries
A: The beneficiaries are all 100 % black. The contributions are weighted up by 1.25x: Category A: 50% Black Owned Business (more than 50%) with an annual turnover of less the R35 million.

Q: What about VAT?
A: Contributions are not subject to VAT as long as no benefit accrues to the donor.

Q: Will I get a Section 18A Certificate?
A: Growing Green, through Food & Trees for Africa, is a registered Public Beneficiary Organisation and can thus issue Section 18A certificates which allow some tax deductibility from donor contributions, so yes

Q: Does Growing Green have a minimum investment amount?
A: Yes. The minimum contribution requirement is R25,000.

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Disclaimer:

Growing Green makes all efforts to ensure that you get the maximum number of points against the General Codes of Good Practice (2007) scorecard. However we cannot specifically cover the different requirements for each industry Sector Code. For this reason, please speak to your verification agency to ensure that you will receive full points according to your industry Sector Code before investing with us.