Sweden change leader story equality 2023

Turning fear into fins

That a girl who grew up far from water, without any experience or knowledge of swimming, would take her first swims on her own as an eighteen-year-old; and then training as a swimming instructor and starting her own swimming school, is a story that inspires. Muna Idow is the mermaid who found her fins relatively late in life and who has made it her life's project to spread the love of water further.

Sweden change leader story equality 2023

Sounds of hope: Reshaping suburban children's lives

A child of Caribbean immigrants, Jean-Charles Cari grew up with his mum in the rough suburbs of Paris and saw many of his friends end up on the wrong path. But role models and music saved his life. Ten years ago he moved to Sweden and when he recognized himself in many of the young teenagers, he decided to offer them what he had helped him, and so Artozik was born.

Sweden ecosystem 2023 partnerships

Promoting social entrepreneurship in Sweden together with Clear Channel

We’re happy to share that we’ve just entered a long term partnership with Scandinavia's leading outdoor media company - Clear Channel. Together we have developed the outdoor campaign "Your idea - Our support" which will increase awareness about our work and promote local Swedish social entrepreneurs offering solutions for children and young people.

2022 impact Ethiopia climate

Catalyzing Green Business in Ethiopia

Since 2021, Reach for Change, with the support of the IKEA Foundation, has been implementing a pilot project in Ethiopia aimed at inspiring young people to establish green enterprises. This innovative approach has been delivered in collaboration with four higher education institutions in Addis Ababa, consisting of two TVETs (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) and two universities. The pilot has yielded valuable learnings and insights, including the implementation of a Green Entrepreneurship Bootcamp and a Green Innovation Lab.

expertise 2022 Sweden Baltics impact

Empowering Social Entrepreneurs to Support NEETs

In Europe, a concerning statistic reveals that 11.5% of young people between the ages of 15 and 25 are neither in work nor in education. This critical period of their lives, when they should be embarking on their professional journeys, utilizing their acquired skills and knowledge, is instead marked by a struggle to find employment. This situation leads to frustration, economic hardship, and even mental distress, with potentially severe consequences for their well-being. At the same time, societies miss out on the opportunity to benefit from the talents and innovative ideas these young individuals possess.

expertise Sweden blogpost 2023

Unique investments in social entrepreneurship in the EU and the UN - but where is Sweden?

With the EU's Social Economy Action Plan and a recently adopted UN resolution, Sweden has a chance to invest in social entrepreneurship. The opportunity is about to be missed, but there is still time to raise the issue, write our CEO Sofia Breitholtz and Jenny Carenco, partner in Utfallsfonden and board member of The Swedish National Advisory Board for Impact Investing.

Sofia Breitholtz

Sweden change leader story 2023

Training for a more equal society

Throughout her life, our Change Leader Susan Dahlbeck experienced how local gyms in Järva outside of Stockholm were dominated by men and lacked safe places for young women. As health issues have increased in socio-economic challenged areas, she decided to start Healthy Women - a network for young women to engage in physical activities and ongoing social gatherings. We talked with her about her journey and the impact created by Healthy Women.

ghana partnering for change 2023

Global Board Visit in Ghana

In March, Global Board member Monica Lindstedt - founder of Hemfrid, and Advisory Board member David Orlic - Co-Founder & CEO of Anyone, together with our CEO Sofia Breitholtz and a business delegation from Sweden arrived in Accra, Ghana - to spend the next three days experiencing first-hand the impact created by driven social entrepreneurs, meet local partners of Reach for Change and explore the interesting city of Accra.

ghana expertise blogpost

Developing the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ghana

Our Country Manager in Ghana, Solomon Twum, reflects on how the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ghana has developed over the last decade, and shares insights on the national policy in the area, the local impact investing scene and what's needed in order to create more cross-sector collaborations for impact.

Solomon Twum

ghana news 2023 partnerships

Partnering for Change in Ghana

On Tuesday 28th March, together with the BMW Foundation, Reach for Change Ghana gathered over 75 local and international partners, social innovators, business leaders, investors, and development partners in Ghana at an exclusive “Partnering for Change” roundtable event at the Fiesta Royale Hotel, Accra.

Sweden education change leader story 2023

Inclusive environments for kids: lessons from a social entrepreneur

The close environment has a big impact on how children interpret social structures, and how they interact with each other. It’s up to us adults to create an environment that reflect that we’re all equally important. Our Change Leader Johanna Abdo, founder of the Swedish educational brand Elsa och Sam has dedicated herself to creating more inclusive environments for kids. We talked with her about her entrepreneurial journey and the products and impact she’s creating.

expertise Baltics impact investing

Attracting Impact Investors

Last month the social entrepreneurs part of the Baltic Sea Impact Network participated in an expert workshop on how to build successful relationships with investors. Check out 5 of the practical and down-to-earth suggestions on what to do first in order to gain investor’s interest and trust that emerged from the conversation.

Sweden news 2023 projects

Gathering forces for increased youth employment

In 2021 in Sweden 10.3% of youths are registered as unemployed at the employment agency. In Eskilstuna municipality the number is 13.9%. If you look at it even closer, the number goes up to 26.7% for youths born outside of Sweden. The numbers show a city where young people do not have the same opportunities to reach their full potential. The coming two years, Reach for Change together with Right By Me and the municipality of Eskilstuna, and with support of Inkludera will join forces to turn this around.

Baltics 2023 projects

Empowering Baltic social entrepreneurs

Reach for Change is a partner in the newly launched Integrated Baltic Ecosystem for Social Innovation (IBESI) - a Horizon Europe project aimed at raising awareness and facilitating access of Baltic States’ social entrepreneurs to the resources of local and pan-European innovation ecosystems.

expertise ecosystem blogpost

5 learnings from investing in social entrepreneurship

Our CEO Sofia Breitholtz reflects on the key learnings from our social entrepreneurship programs in Europe and Africa and the conversations with various stakeholders and investors which we're hosting.

Sofia Breitholtz

Baltics news 2023

Strengthening the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Latvia

Reach for Change Latvia has been chosen by the Latvian Ministry of Welfare as one of the partners in a large-scale cycle of social entrepreneurship activities under the name "Developing social entrepreneurship together!", financed by the European Social Fund.