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Published 21 November 2024 • Inter IKEA newsroom

Supporting social entrepreneurs for positive societal impact

In FY24, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship increased its support and is pleased to announce that it has supported a total of 104 social enterprises and continued collaborating with 11 social business partners who create products selling in IKEA stores worldwide. Together with partners, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship supported various programmes and directly supported social enterprises. This effort reinforces IKEA Social Entrepreneurship's mission to support social enterprises and promote a more sustainable, inclusive future. Today, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship is releasing its Annual Review for FY24. 

Thanks to rising contributions to funds and direct support grants to social enterprises, the total number of supported social enterprises grew by almost 10% in FY24. This brings the total number of enterprises that IKEA Social Entrepreneurship has supported since the start in FY19 to 208, reaching around 6 million people from vulnerable and marginalised groups. Additionally, in FY24 IKEA Social Entrepreneurship continued collaboration with 11 social business partners, creating 10,000 jobs and income opportunities across six countries: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The partnerships have resulted in products and collections such as MÄVINN, FRÖDD, and ÅKERNEJLIKA. 

“The need for renewed efforts to address poverty, create jobs, reduce inequality, and foster inclusive societies has never been greater. Increasingly frequent global crises impact vulnerable communities the hardest”, says Åsa Skogström Feldt, Managing Director IKEA Social Entrepreneurship BV. “The past few years have demonstrated that partnerships are a powerful way to innovate business models and increase positive change. We currently support social entrepreneurs in 21 countries, combining business support and impact investments with social business partnerships. By doing so, we can help positively impact society and contribute to improved livelihoods for many people.”    

During FY24 some important steps were taken: 

  • Signing of The Rise Ahead Pledge, committing to further boost investments in the social economy and report progress annually. 
  • Being part of the pledge from different IKEA entities at the 2023 UN Global Refugee Forum.  
  • Launching the Hello Accelerator with Ashoka to foster migration collaborations.  
  • Continuing the Refugee Employment Initiative with NESsT in Poland and Romania, creating over 1,900 formal jobs.   
  • Welcoming 10 social enterprises focusing on inclusive regenerative agriculture and the circular economy to the I-SEA programme in Indonesia. 
  • Renewal of the collaboration with Saahas Zero Waste in India to develop a holistic approach to recycled materials and investments in two social enterprises.  
  • Recognition of ROPE and SPUN in India as new IKEA social business suppliers. ROPE delivers products to the main IKEA range, alongside its contributions to the MÄVINN social business collection.  
  • Launch of the second collection of MÄVINN in collaboration with artisans from Bangladesh, India, and Jordan, showcasing traditional craftsmanship that changes lives. 
  • Launch of a new partnership with the Biji-Biji Initiative to drive positive change in Malaysia. Since September 2024, 10 social enterprises joined the accelerator to scale their business and impact. 
  • Programmes with NESsT in South America, Poland, and Romania, with New Ventures in Mexico, Instellar in Indonesia, along with the global programme Dela with Ashoka continued. 
  • 121 IKEA co-workers supported social entrepreneurs participating in the accelerator programmes through mentoring and coaching. 

IKEA Social Entrepreneurship has since the start in 2012 aimed to improve the everyday lives of people from vulnerable and marginalised groups. By doing business with and supporting social entrepreneurs and social enterprises*, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship creates apositive social impact inside and beyond the IKEA value chain and continues to develop social business in inclusive employment, agriculture and food, and circularity. 

 

Explore the IKEA Social Entrepreneurship Annual Review FY24 in full.

*Social entrepreneurs are individuals who employ innovative solutions to address social and environmental challenges. Social enterprises are organisations that use business models to drive social impact, regardless of their legal structure.

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About IKEA Social Entrepreneurship  

IKEA Social Entrepreneurship supports social entrepreneurs to create social impact inside and beyond the IKEA value chain. Through a combination of capacity-building accelerator programmes, impact investments, and social business partnerships, it aims to improve livelihoods and create income opportunities for people from vulnerable and marginalized groups. IKEA Social Entrepreneurship centres its activity on three focus areas: inclusive employment, the circular economy and sustainable agriculture.  

IKEA Social Entrepreneurship contributes to the IKEA sustainability strategy as an enabler of the fair and equal pillar, which alongside healthy and sustainable living and climate, nature and circularity, is a core focus for the IKEA business. 

At IKEA our ambition is to play our full part in contributing to a fair and equal society by respecting and promoting human rights across our value chain, ensuring children's rights, providing and supporting decent and meaningful work, being an equal, diverse and inclusive business.    

Learn more at: www.ikeasocialentrepreneurship.org

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