Recently, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship joined the launch celebration of Sea Ranger Service’s newest ship, SRS Janet Taylor, in Rotterdam, where Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands christened the ship. With over 300 attendees from maritime, government, conservation and social finance sectors, the event marked another step towards decarbonising the maritime industry and empowering a new generation of Sea Rangers.
In 2019, Sea Ranger Service joined the first cohort of our Dela accelerator programme, co-created with our partner Ashoka, to scale their social impact. The social enterprise is the world’s first, global maritime ranger service. It focuses on constructing specially designed sailing work ships while reintegrating navy veterans and providing underprivileged youth with bootcamp training and job opportunities.
In 2019, Sea Ranger Service joined the first cohort of our Dela accelerator programme, co-created with our partner Ashoka, to scale their social impact. The social enterprise is the world’s first, global maritime ranger service. It focuses on constructing specially designed sailing work ships while reintegrating navy veterans and providing underprivileged youth with bootcamp training and job opportunities.
IKEA Social Entrepreneurship supporting Sea Ranger Service to scale their impact
Since his time in Dela I, Wietse van der Werf, founder and CEO of Sea Ranger Service, and his team have continued to revolutionise ocean conservation, collaborating with governmental agencies and securing 20 contracts for marine and environmental monitoring and conservation. Sea Ranger Service has trained 172 young persons and 67 full-time rangers, of which 72% are women, have been actively involved in seagrass restoration and planted more than 75 thousand seagrass seeds off the coasts of the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Germany, Spain, and United Kingdom.
IKEA Social Entrepreneurship joined the christening moments of their latest, sustainability-centred ship. Optimised for both resilience and sailing performance, SRS Janet Taylor was built in collaboration with 15 shipbuilding partners. It’s dedicated to sailing across long distances, minimising its emissions and setting an excellent training platform for young people to safeguard marine ecosystems.
The vessel is named after a pioneering British woman from the 19th century whose contributions to improving safety for seafarers and developing navigational instruments remain valuable to today’s maritime science.
IKEA Social Entrepreneurship joined the christening moments of their latest, sustainability-centred ship. Optimised for both resilience and sailing performance, SRS Janet Taylor was built in collaboration with 15 shipbuilding partners. It’s dedicated to sailing across long distances, minimising its emissions and setting an excellent training platform for young people to safeguard marine ecosystems.
The vessel is named after a pioneering British woman from the 19th century whose contributions to improving safety for seafarers and developing navigational instruments remain valuable to today’s maritime science.
The launch event gained recognition from the Dutch royal family and welcomed Carola Schouten, Mayor of Rotterdam who expressed her support for the social enterprise’s efforts towards a more sustainable future.
Together, with our partner Ashoka, we’re excited by the impactful growth of the social enterprises joining the Dela accelerator programme. We continue our mission of empowering socially driven initiatives and extending our support beyond the accelerator. Through our new Dela Investment Readiness Programme, in collaboration with Ashoka and Social Innovation Circle, Sea Ranger Service and four other organisations are assisted in their journeys to bridge the gap between their business goals and the necessary financial resources to achieve them.
Read more about our last Dela Summit 2025 in Älmhult, Sweden.
Check out the social enterprises in Dela accelerator programme.
Support social entrepreneurs and join our current fifth cohort of Dela as an experimentation expert.
Read more about our last Dela Summit 2025 in Älmhult, Sweden.
Check out the social enterprises in Dela accelerator programme.
Support social entrepreneurs and join our current fifth cohort of Dela as an experimentation expert.