In partnership with Jordan River Foundation, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship has designed and developed IKEA textile products produced by refugees and local women in Jordan. Now entering its second year, the initiative is ready to scale-up, increasing the number of job opportunities from 250 to 400.
In October 2020 the first globally sold product, the TILLTALANDE cushion cover, will be available in IKEA stores. Produced by Jordan River Foundation this commitment has enabled them to create more jobs for local Jordanian and refugee women, combining these with training and support.
Rajaa Albalbisi, fled war-torn Syria in 2014 when she was 17 years old and came to Jordan. She took a 25-day course at Jordan River Foundation to learn seamstress skills and start working in their factory.
While all of us are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, refugees and displaced persons are most at-risk. In this context, supporting refugees is more relevant than ever. As part of our first accelerator programme with Ashoka, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship has granted EUR30k to More Than Shelters, an organisation that creates safe spaces for refugees and displaced people and encourages them to actively shape their own future.
This grant will allow More Than Shelters to develop an ‘Integration-Hub’ for refugees living in Germany. Currently, many structural challenges hinder refugees integration into society, making it exceedingly difficult for them to obtain jobs, acquire sufficient communication skills or to regain a social network that enables full participation in the communities where they live. The Hub will facilitate this process by creating a socio-spatial place that assists refugees self-determine their social, cultural, and economic integration through incubation and innovation.