IKEA Social Entrepreneurship

IKEA Social Entrepreneurship is supporting the movement of social entrepreneurship both inside and outside the IKEA value chain. The mission is to maximise social impact focused on livelihoods, equality and inclusion, specifically for vulnerable and marginalised people. Together with the business, and the IKEA foundation, this assignment contributes well to the overall IKEA vision to create a better everyday life for the many people.
Why social entrepreneurship?
We believe social entrepreneurship can be an important driver of change and a positive force to create social impact. Social entrepreneurs are pioneers and pathfinders whose business idea is to create jobs and better opportunities for marginalised groups and vulnerable communities – tackling the root causes of poverty and inequality in the process. Their efforts locally have the potential to create ripples that change how social issues are addressed globally. Unfortunately social enterprises often lack the means of scaling their solution further. Therefore IKEA Social Entrepreneurship focus specifically on support in this critical scaling phase.
Our tools and focus areas
IKEA Social Entrepreneurship mainly work with accelerator programmes, direct investment and direct and indirect business partnerships. Co-worker engagement and market place support -inside and outside the IKEA value chain – are also part of how we can partner. Furthermore, a fundamental element in supporting the movement of social entrepreneurship is the educational aspect where our aim is to provide a wide range of knowledge and training material.