IKEA Social Entrepreneurship along with NESsT have joined forces in a three-year partnership to support 17 social enterprises working across Chile, Colombia, Peru and Brazil.
With the ambition of improving the lives of 1,500 marginalised and excluded people across the region, this co-created and tailor-made accelerator programme has been designed alongside IKEA regional representatives (IKSO - IKEA Chile, Colombia, Peru & Inter IKEA in Brazil). It will provide social enterprises hands-on guidance from IKEA co-workers and NESsT advisors to support the social entrepreneurs with their business scale up plans.
The Programme
Beginning in spring of 2020, this three-year accelerator will support 17 selected social entrepreneurs who are looking to scale their businesses but need specific advice on how to do so. Each participant will receive tailor-made support combining mentoring, coaching, training and implementation support from IKEA and NESsT in the areas of marketing and communications, business development and marketplace access.
The programme will work with entrepreneurs who produce sustainable products and/or who offer services that provide dignified employment and income to five key vulnerable groups across the region: low-income women, small producers, people with disabilities/different abilities, ethnic communities and at-risk youth.
The Impact of COVID-19 in Latin America
The economies of Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru have been growing steadily for the past two decades, but many people are still left behind, often leading to high levels of un- and under-employment as well as persistent poverty, severe income disparity, and exclusion.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has pushed these same vulnerable people further into poverty and insecurity. Deaths doubled in some cities and highways swelled with a wave of internal migration as people fled to the countryside when jobs disappeared, many of whom were commuting by foot.
Social enterprises that provide decent work and services to these committees have also been severely impacted. The majority require additional support and funding to allow them to adapt their business models to the rapidly changing situation. Our Latin America accelerator has even greater relevance and urgency within the context of the pandemic. Three social enterprises have already joined the programme and received mentoring and business assistance to allow them to adjust their businesses due to COVID-19 and to get them on a solid footing for growth in 2021.
