This Christmas, it’s more important than ever to support social businesses. At a time when it may feel easier to shop online at the major online retailer ‘who shall not be named’, why not take a bit of time to find a social business which benefits a local community?
Today, we are highlighting three social businesses we have been working with over the last year who are selling presents online!
Akojo Market is the leading UK platform selling handmade accessories, jewellery, homeware and fashion from independent African designers. They carefully select talented designers and brands who promote local culture and artisan craftsmanship, and are committed to a sustainable and transparent way of working. We worked with Akoji Market this year as part of the F-LANE accelerator from Vodafone.
Alive and Kicking are the world’s only not-for-profit ball manufacturer. Their centres across sub-Saharan Africa create hundreds of ethical jobs for adults facing disadvantage. Profits from balls sales and additional fundraising give young people access to sport and health education Alive and Kicking are selling their wide range of balls on their online shop. https://aliveandkicking.org/shop/
RangSutra are one of our portfolio companies, they act as a bridge between rural artisans and global consumers to create sustainable livelihoods and revive India’s rich craft heritage. They work with artisan cooperatives from rural villages to source textiles that are then turned into finished garments. And they ship internationally!
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?
Alexandre Furlan, CEO of Instituto Muda, has been building his business since he finished college 12 years ago. São Paulo generates 20,000 tons of waste on a daily basis. Yet only 5% of the residential buildings have public recycling collection service - the majority of it goes to landfill. Instituto Muda tackles the problem by picking and sorting recycled waste and donating it to waste
“At Upaya, we have always focused on growing the enterprises that have the highest potential to create jobs to lift families out of poverty,” said Kate Cochran, CEO of Upaya Social Ventures.