Yunus Social Business Partners With Ikea Foundation to Empower Social Entrepreneurs in Developing Economies

Yunus Social Business Partners With Ikea Foundation to Empower Social Entrepreneurs in Developing Ec

February 4, 2020

We are excited to announce our partnership with IKEA Foundation as part of their expanding focus on social entrepreneurship. The €3 million partnership will run over three years to dramatically expand opportunities for social entrepreneurs and the communities they serve, as well as to grow a community of practice among the intermediaries and investors that make pathways to scale possible.

The partnership will be based on the shared priority of learning between the organisations. Since 2011, Yunus Social Business has built an extensive track record of supporting and growing social businesses across the globe, including in Kenya and India. The key focus of the partnership will be exploring how social businesses drive employment in developing economies, and how we can crowd in further resources and support for the most successful enterprises through different blended finance approaches.

Entrepreneurs who put social issues—such as job creation, health and education—at the centre of their business models can help lift communities out of poverty but they need support and access to finance to do so. With IKEA Foundation’s support, Yunus Social Business will expand a mix of local and global approaches to support entrepreneurship. Locally, we will deliver further hands-on business development support with our experienced local teams in Kenya and India. Globally, YSB will expand our ecosystem building work, leveraging our existing work in the sector and complementing the work of our peers and fellow investors.

Social enterprises are driving innovation to find more efficient solutions to end poverty, but they need support to access finance that suits their needs and build strong, resilient businesses. The partnership with IKEA Foundation will create a platform for engagement where we can collaboratively build up the sector, harnessing the power of business to end poverty.

 “THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THE IKEA FOUNDATION, TO SUPPORT SOLUTIONS WITH REAL POTENTIAL FOR FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND SCALE,” SAID KAREN HITSCHKE, YUNUS SOCIAL BUSINESSES CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER.

Together we will support more than 130 social entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, enabling them to reach many more people with their products and services and improve the incomes of 100,000 women and young people in their communities.

Ikea Foundation Partnership with Yunus Social Business

Enterprise Support Landscape Study

IKEA Foundation and Yunus Social Business carried out a 6-month joint research project, getting to the bottom of this question: With ever more organisations joining social-business ecosystems, how can we all start to plug the gaps in the support landscape?

Grameen Veolia Water Ltd – fresh drinking water

Fresh water is abundant in Bangladesh, in the form of numerous groundwater resources that are shallow and easy to exploit. However, for essentially geological reasons, almost all of the groundwater is contaminated with arsenic, very often at levels that make it a health hazard.

How Social Intrapreneurship Can Shake Off The Corporate Dust

So, here we are. The time for change and personal re-shaping through resolutions is upon us already. But this doesn’t just mean an opportunity for personal improvement, it also means a time for professional self-development too.

Cookie Consent

We use cookies to provide necessary website functionality, improve your experience and analyze our traffic. By using our website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our cookies usage.