2024 Sri Lanka Seal Challenge Round 3 Launch: Co-Funding Opportunity for Tea Companies to Promote and Protect Child Rights in the Tea Sector

The Centre for Child Rights and Business and Save the Children are pleased to announce the launch of the third Seal Challenge of 2024. The theme of this round is child rights.  

Last year, we rolled out five Seal Challenges, resulting in funding for 11 concepts. Selected winners included tea estates and smallholders, who turned their innovative ideas into practical actions that are continuing to positively impact women, children and tea communities. Read this article for a round-up of last year’s Seal Challenge initiatives. 

What is the Seal Challenge?

The Seal Challenge (formerly known as the CRIB challenge) is an initiative led by The Centre for Child Rights and Business to encourage businesses connected to the tea industry – including plantation companies, tea smallholders, factories, brokers, exporters, brands and retailers – to develop or support innovative concept notes that address particular issues or challenges faced by children and families within their business ecosystem, particularly in estates or factories. “Winners” of the Seal Challenge receive either a small funding boost or technical expertise as an incentive to bring their proposed concepts to life.

How to take part

Please email your concept notes to info.Sl@childrights-business.org.

Remember to put the title of your concept note as "Seal Challenge 2024 Round 3" along with your company name in the title. Please include the budget breakdown and monitoring plan for your proposed concept.

For more information on the Mother and Child-Friendly Seal for Responsible Business Initiative, please visit https://www.srilanka-motherandchildseal.org.

Details on the Seal Challenge 2024 Round 3:

The concept note for the challenge can be submitted under the following sub-categories within the theme of child rights:

Eligibility Criteria:

• Concept note submissions for this challenge can only be made by a company registered in Sri Lanka
• The duration of the implementation of the proposed initiative should start in September 2024 and may go up to June 2025.  
• There should be at least 50% financial contribution for the proposed initiative, together with human resource investment by the company for the proposed initiative.

The initiative concept note should include the following:

• Address an issue or challenge identified in one of the six categories mentioned above. Please state clearly and concisely what this issue is and why it is an issue.
• Mention underlying reasons for the issue.
• Ensure your concept includes a clear theory of change.
• Demonstrate that this initiative goes beyond business as usual or regular company initiatives, but rather addresses a specific challenge identified in the mentioned areas.
• While the concept can be part of a larger vision, the proposed initiative should be specific, addressing a particular phase of the larger vision.
• Clearly specify the outputs, results, and indicators of measurement.
• Include a work plan with specific activities and a timeline.
• The budget should indicate the total financial and human resource time required, with a breakdown of the company's contribution and the anticipated contribution from interested stakeholders.
• Briefly describe the sustainability plan for the initiative (e.g. how and when will the initiative become part of company policy and practice)

The Centre for Child Rights and Business will be selecting a few innovative ideas to support through a contribution of either funds (ranging from LKR 500,000 to LKR 1 million) and/or technical expertise.

Queries on the Seal Challenge:

Should any interested company have questions on the challenge, they can send them to info.SL@childrights-business.org, with the subject title “Question on the Seal Challenge Round 3” on or before, August 12th noon.

The timeline of the challenge is as follows: