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!
At Yunus Social Business we are proud to support female entrepreneurs all over the world who are innovating to solve social problems in a sustainable way. The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change”, so we wanted to take some time to celebrate the women we work with who are doing just that!
The network wave has surged, and many organisations today are following a similar network-centric approach. A popular example is Spotify’s world-famous culture - driven by its organisational structure.
We caught up with the CBO and Co-Founder of Arbusta, Juan Umaran about fighting the ‘war on talent’ in Latin America with opportunity youth. Arbusta is the latest investment of the Yunus Social Business fund in Colombia.