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Social enterprises driving global change on World Food Day

Every year on 16 October, World Food Day highlights important topics such as food waste, sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, and the challenges faced by fishing communities — all in an effort to combat climate change. This year's theme is "Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future”. It's the perfect opportunity for us to shine a spotlight on the incredible efforts of social entrepreneurs, who are making everyday life better for so many people and how they're creating a more sustainable and inclusive world.

A woman stading behind a table of colourful dolls.

Watoto Arts

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Watoto Arts is a social enterprise designing inclusive dolls that reflect children’s diversity while creating meaningful job opportunities for foreign-born women.

Sweden is becoming more diverse, but many children still don’t see themselves represented in the toys they play with. When dolls don’t reflect different skin tones, hair types or lived experiences, it can affect how children see themselves and others. At the same time, many foreign-born women in Sweden face obstacles when entering the labour market and finding stable, meaningful work.

30%
Location
Stockholm, Sweden

Programme
Everyone’s Business Programme
in partnership with Reach for Change

Website
www.watotoarts.com

Watoto Arts works to change this. The organisation designs and produces inclusive dolls that reflect the diversity of children today, while also creating safe, supportive jobs for women who are far from the labour market.

The dolls come in different skin tones and hair types and can include features such as hearing aids, stoma equipment, surgical scars, or diabetes equipment. This helps children recognise themselves and their friends in play, building confidence, empathy and a sense of belonging.

Alongside the products, Watoto Arts offers foreign-born women a chance to gain work experience, develop their Swedish, and build confidence in the workplace. This support helps many of them move closer to long-term employment and greater independence.

Since it began, Watoto Arts has grown from a kitchen-table idea into a social enterprise with its own production space in Solna, a skilled team and partnerships with preschools, hospitals, retailers and non-profits. Educators use the dolls for value-based learning aligned with the curriculum, and play therapists use them to prepare children for medical procedures in a way that feels safe and familiar.

Watoto Arts’ ambition is to scale up a model that enables locally produced dolls to reach more children, create more jobs for foreign-born women, and contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable toy industry.

Programme support

Through the programme, we’ll support Watoto Arts in advancing their proven model. The focus will be on strengthening their growth strategy, building strong partnerships, and expanding sales to the public sector, retailers, and international markets. This support will help Watoto Arts scale their impact, reach more children with inclusive dolls and create more stable job opportunities for foreign-born women.