Building the Capacity of Local Social Entrepreneurs
Striving to reduce inequalities in Sweden, we kept empowering innovators from vulnerable socio-economic areas. In 2023, we supported 10 outstanding social entrepreneurs in our Incubator. In December, we welcomed 6 new entrepreneurs to our program and gave a chance to those graduating from it to pitch for 200 000 SEK in funding. The award went to Susan Dahlbeck and Healthy Women - a network that offers exercise and social gatherings to improve the physical and mental health of suburban girls to create a more equal society.
As a response to the rising mental health challenges of emerging adults in the Nordics, together with The Inner Foundation and the Tim Bergling Foundation we launched Next in Mind. The initiative has a two-folded approach including both systematic advocacy activities and an Incubator program for social innovators with mental-health solutions for emerging adults.
In Bulgaria, we celebrated a decade of impact by dedicating an anniversary program to our alumni together with our long-standing partners Nova Broadcasting Group, raising awareness about the importance of social entrepreneurship.
In Ghana, together with the Jacobs Foundation, we supported 10 EdTech innovators, solving some of the most pressing educational challenges in Ghana - from offering access to digital devices even in the remotest areas, through creating engaging digital STEM content, to encouraging a love for reading. Our joint Scaling Readiness program helped the edupreneurs to improve and gather further evidence on the effectiveness of their solutions and to prepare to scale their interventions. To raise their voices, we launched the Edupreneur Talks podcast, where we dived deeper into their entrepreneurial journeys and the lessons learned on the way.
We launched the Future Forward Scaling Readiness Program for green and digital innovations from Central and Eastern Europe. Applications are open until January 15th!
Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets to create an impact
In Ethiopia, we’ve enabled young people to generate and develop green business ideas, combating the growing effects of climate change. Together with IKEA Foundation, we run a pilot Entrepreneurship Bootcamps and a Green Innovation Lab which proved to be effective in catalyzing green business ideas and nurturing entrepreneurial mindsets among Ethiopian youth.
To ensure everyone's right to thrive and lead a dignified life, in Ghana and Ethiopia, we run several Women and Youth Social and Economic Empowerment programs. They provide training and technical support to women and youth entrepreneurs to gain skills and knowledge to develop, refine and start or run a business idea and to gain access to funding, creating job opportunities for themselves and others.
Improving the odds by developing the ecosystem
Successfully growing or scaling a solution is almost impossible if you are working in a fragmented ecosystem. That’s why we’re also focusing on ecosystem development activities - looking into additional funding instruments, working in partnerships, and advocating for enhancing the regulations and legislation for social entrepreneurship.
In the Nordic-Baltic region, as part of the IBESI project, we organized a series of interactive online workshops for investors who are already involved or interested in investing in social entrepreneurs. We gave them the space to exchange knowledge, foster new connections, and collectively strengthen their impact investing efforts.
We know that being a social entrepreneur can be a lonely journey. So, helping find the tribe - someone who knows "what it's like" - is a big part of our work. Our Baltic Sea Impact Network offers social entrepreneurs from Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Ukraine a chance to connect with like-minded peers and join forces.
Social procurement is a key part of the business models of many social entrepreneurs, and an opportunity for them to scale their impact. In Sweden, we’re designing, testing, and disseminating a collaborative model that aims to make it easier for social entrepreneurs to collaborate with municipalities with the Kraftsamling project. To nurture social procurement within the private sector, we’ve joined forces with movement pioneers and experts globally, within the Buy Social Europe B2B Initiative. Co-funded by the EU and SAP, it empowers social and mainstream enterprises to find each other and build sustainable trade partnerships.
2023 has indeed been a busy year, dedicated to supporting those who reach for change!
We are so thankful for the trust and commitment of all our friends, partners, and Change Leaders across the globe. Together, we have achieved remarkable milestones. On behalf of our whole team, we wish you happy holidays and a peaceful, hopeful and even more impactful 2024!
