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
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.
MIA Spotlight: Shedding Light on Ajaita Shah
India has an enormous population of 1.4 billion, within it there are a staggering amount of people who live rurally with no access to a reliable or regular electricity supply. Roughly a third of the planet’s electricity deficit is in India with only 82% of its inhabitants having access to electricity – meaning a total of 239 million people are left in darkness (as of 2016).
COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs, Initiated by YSB and WEF’s Schwab Foundation
Social Entrepreneurs and small and growing businesses (SGBs) have been acting as frontline responders during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing services to the most vulnerable populations. But the crisis shed light on the constraints & challenges they face. We call on on corporations, (impact) investors, funders, support organizations and government institutions to stand by social entrepreneurs
Pomario grow the change in Colombia.
Check out our new video telling the stories of rural farmers! They provide higher incomes and safe jobs for rural farmers in Colombia. They work in areas affected by armed conflict growing baby vegetables and edible flowers. 🌱 🌿 🥕🌷 🌹
