Every year on 8 March, the world observes International Women's Day. This March, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship recognises the work of the many women advancing the moment of social entrepreneurship. Join us every week this month as we celebrate some of these remarkable women and how they're contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive world.
Today, we feature Asmaa Ibnouzahir, founder and executive director of Institut F in Canada and Nicole Bjerler, Strategic Topic Developer at IKEA of Sweden.
Institut F is a social enterprise dedicated to fostering personal and collective growth for Muslim women in Québec, Canada, empowering them to thrive within both their cultural communities and the broader society. Asmaa is part of Dela, a systems change accelerator programme co-created with Ashoka. The current programme focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion. During the programme, a team of experts, including IKEA co-workers, support each social entrepreneur. During the programme's first 6-month strategy phase, Nicole supported Asmaa as a thought partner to analyse the envisioned systems change and develop a roadmap towards achieving it.
In celebration of International Women's Day, we sat down with these two inspiring women to learn about their experiences. Read on to hear more about their journey and their exchanged learnings, reflections, and shared moments.
Q: Asmaa, what inspired you to start Institut F, and what are the key values that drive your impactful work?
Asmaa: Since childhood, I've been very sensitive to injustice. In 2000, I started to be involved as an activist for Muslim minorities and Muslim women's rights, especially after realising that almost nothing structured had been done to strengthen our community in Québec. I started by questioning the context and potential solutions, so I considered having a space where we can belong, express our Muslim identity, and empower ourselves. I was also part of international organisations like the Muslim Women Network. I was in contact with many Muslim women from all over the world who were so organised and goal-oriented. So, I thought, OK, if they all can do it, why can't we?
In 2013, I designed an initial strategy in PowerPoint, and in 2015, I enrolled in a master's degree course on Women's Studies to gain a deeper academic understanding. In 2017, I decided to officially launch Institut F. What was important to me was not establishing another NGO fighting racism but rather setting a place where we can question things and have a decolonial perspective.
Q: Nicole and Asmaa, how did you first come to learn about the Dela accelerator programme, and what motivated you to join?
Nicole: I had heard about the programme from a colleague with whom I work very closely, and I was really fascinated by the opportunity to engage with the programme. I've always cared deeply about equality and diversity, so this cohort's specific focus was very interesting. Then, I was excited to be matched with Asmaa and her team.
Asmaa: As an Ashoka Fellow, one of the Ashoka team members reached out to me and proposed the programme. I was really happy. Then, I had the chance to talk to one of the Fellows in Canada, who encouraged me to participate. I liked the idea of working with different experts from different sectors.
Q: How would you describe your relationship during the strategy phase? What were your first impressions of each other, and how did that evolve/change over time?
Asmaa: I'll be very transparent here. The nature of the topic is very tricky. I was initially worried about how our interactions might flow and the explanations needed to share my initiative, but now I love it, and I love Nicole. She's so sweet and nice; we had a great time together.
There're are many examples of Nicole showing genuine commitment and care. For instance, the WhatsApp messages that she was sending me privately showed that it wasn't just an 'expert and a social entrepreneur' professional collaboration but rather a human-to-human relationship, so I really appreciate it. We met physically during the recent Dela Summit for the first time; however, it felt like we'd been meeting in person for so long. I love that our relationship evolved in this sense.
Nicole: Amazing, thank you for saying so, Asma. It really warms my heart. Throughout the programme, I approached the conversations from a very open-minded perspective. I was super impressed by Asmaa and the journey she has taken, not as a Muslim woman but as a person. I was like, wow, I want to be like her!
Then, through our frequent discussions and seeing how you built Institut F, it's impressive to see that you're growing despite all the challenges. It's also been so rewarding to be part of the journey, learn from you, and understand the realities in which you operate. I really admire your strength and determination, and I appreciate that we've built a relationship where we can also show a certain degree of vulnerability and open up about things that may not be easy to handle. I really felt we developed a sisterhood, an intergenerational sisterhood, from different angles.
Q: Please tell us about any key moments, achievements, and/ or shared learnings from your Dela journey together so far.
Nicole: There have been learnings on an ongoing, constant basis, a 'learning loop'. For example, we sometimes revisit and refine things that we have agreed on. Maybe one of the key moments was the engagement and understanding of the local context of the Muslim women in Québec.
Asmaa: For me, it was learning a lot more detail and depth about system change because it's something that I've never worked on before. I've realised that we can't think of actions and do them without analysing the systems behind them. I've gained many learnings, and I was like, OK, so we need to replicate this methodology for our other programmes that we're working on in Institut F.
Q: Nicole, what were some of the ways you supported Asmaa as her thought partner?
Nicole: I think, coming from that bird's eye view, zooming in, circling back, and zooming in closer to understand the context has been an interesting process and trusting the process has been a key mantra in this journey. With the help of the Dela programme and the step-by-step approaches and tools it provides, we could get to the root of the focus areas.
Q: What advice would you give to other women looking to mentor female social entrepreneurs?
Nicole: If I could offer some advice, it would be to be open-minded and ready to check your own privileges and put them at the door. You should understand that lived realities are different. There should be a sense of solidarity. To do this, one needs to be open enough to understand, put oneself in somebody else's shoes, and reflect on differences.
Q: What advice would you give to women wanting to start their social enterprise?
Asmaa: One important advice is to take enough time. Also, to be clear with themselves about the reasons and motives behind launching their social enterprises, ask, 'Why do they want to do that?'. This is what will make them overcome obstacles and not give up when things temporarily don't work. They don't have to make efforts so they can see immediate results, even during their lifetimes. They also need to have the right intentions, develop skills and required competencies, and make the right efforts.
What's clear from our conversation is that the bond between these two remarkable women is built on openness, genuine support, and a shared passion for learning from each other. Their journey together through the Dela accelerator programme serves as a strong reminder that when women support women, incredible things happen.
Today, we feature Asmaa Ibnouzahir, founder and executive director of Institut F in Canada and Nicole Bjerler, Strategic Topic Developer at IKEA of Sweden.
Institut F is a social enterprise dedicated to fostering personal and collective growth for Muslim women in Québec, Canada, empowering them to thrive within both their cultural communities and the broader society. Asmaa is part of Dela, a systems change accelerator programme co-created with Ashoka. The current programme focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion. During the programme, a team of experts, including IKEA co-workers, support each social entrepreneur. During the programme's first 6-month strategy phase, Nicole supported Asmaa as a thought partner to analyse the envisioned systems change and develop a roadmap towards achieving it.
In celebration of International Women's Day, we sat down with these two inspiring women to learn about their experiences. Read on to hear more about their journey and their exchanged learnings, reflections, and shared moments.
Q: Asmaa, what inspired you to start Institut F, and what are the key values that drive your impactful work?
Asmaa: Since childhood, I've been very sensitive to injustice. In 2000, I started to be involved as an activist for Muslim minorities and Muslim women's rights, especially after realising that almost nothing structured had been done to strengthen our community in Québec. I started by questioning the context and potential solutions, so I considered having a space where we can belong, express our Muslim identity, and empower ourselves. I was also part of international organisations like the Muslim Women Network. I was in contact with many Muslim women from all over the world who were so organised and goal-oriented. So, I thought, OK, if they all can do it, why can't we?
In 2013, I designed an initial strategy in PowerPoint, and in 2015, I enrolled in a master's degree course on Women's Studies to gain a deeper academic understanding. In 2017, I decided to officially launch Institut F. What was important to me was not establishing another NGO fighting racism but rather setting a place where we can question things and have a decolonial perspective.
Q: Nicole and Asmaa, how did you first come to learn about the Dela accelerator programme, and what motivated you to join?
Nicole: I had heard about the programme from a colleague with whom I work very closely, and I was really fascinated by the opportunity to engage with the programme. I've always cared deeply about equality and diversity, so this cohort's specific focus was very interesting. Then, I was excited to be matched with Asmaa and her team.
Asmaa: As an Ashoka Fellow, one of the Ashoka team members reached out to me and proposed the programme. I was really happy. Then, I had the chance to talk to one of the Fellows in Canada, who encouraged me to participate. I liked the idea of working with different experts from different sectors.
Q: How would you describe your relationship during the strategy phase? What were your first impressions of each other, and how did that evolve/change over time?
Asmaa: I'll be very transparent here. The nature of the topic is very tricky. I was initially worried about how our interactions might flow and the explanations needed to share my initiative, but now I love it, and I love Nicole. She's so sweet and nice; we had a great time together.
There're are many examples of Nicole showing genuine commitment and care. For instance, the WhatsApp messages that she was sending me privately showed that it wasn't just an 'expert and a social entrepreneur' professional collaboration but rather a human-to-human relationship, so I really appreciate it. We met physically during the recent Dela Summit for the first time; however, it felt like we'd been meeting in person for so long. I love that our relationship evolved in this sense.
Nicole: Amazing, thank you for saying so, Asma. It really warms my heart. Throughout the programme, I approached the conversations from a very open-minded perspective. I was super impressed by Asmaa and the journey she has taken, not as a Muslim woman but as a person. I was like, wow, I want to be like her!
Then, through our frequent discussions and seeing how you built Institut F, it's impressive to see that you're growing despite all the challenges. It's also been so rewarding to be part of the journey, learn from you, and understand the realities in which you operate. I really admire your strength and determination, and I appreciate that we've built a relationship where we can also show a certain degree of vulnerability and open up about things that may not be easy to handle. I really felt we developed a sisterhood, an intergenerational sisterhood, from different angles.
Q: Please tell us about any key moments, achievements, and/ or shared learnings from your Dela journey together so far.
Nicole: There have been learnings on an ongoing, constant basis, a 'learning loop'. For example, we sometimes revisit and refine things that we have agreed on. Maybe one of the key moments was the engagement and understanding of the local context of the Muslim women in Québec.
Asmaa: For me, it was learning a lot more detail and depth about system change because it's something that I've never worked on before. I've realised that we can't think of actions and do them without analysing the systems behind them. I've gained many learnings, and I was like, OK, so we need to replicate this methodology for our other programmes that we're working on in Institut F.
Q: Nicole, what were some of the ways you supported Asmaa as her thought partner?
Nicole: I think, coming from that bird's eye view, zooming in, circling back, and zooming in closer to understand the context has been an interesting process and trusting the process has been a key mantra in this journey. With the help of the Dela programme and the step-by-step approaches and tools it provides, we could get to the root of the focus areas.
Q: What advice would you give to other women looking to mentor female social entrepreneurs?
Nicole: If I could offer some advice, it would be to be open-minded and ready to check your own privileges and put them at the door. You should understand that lived realities are different. There should be a sense of solidarity. To do this, one needs to be open enough to understand, put oneself in somebody else's shoes, and reflect on differences.
Q: What advice would you give to women wanting to start their social enterprise?
Asmaa: One important advice is to take enough time. Also, to be clear with themselves about the reasons and motives behind launching their social enterprises, ask, 'Why do they want to do that?'. This is what will make them overcome obstacles and not give up when things temporarily don't work. They don't have to make efforts so they can see immediate results, even during their lifetimes. They also need to have the right intentions, develop skills and required competencies, and make the right efforts.
What's clear from our conversation is that the bond between these two remarkable women is built on openness, genuine support, and a shared passion for learning from each other. Their journey together through the Dela accelerator programme serves as a strong reminder that when women support women, incredible things happen.