The Dela Summit marked a key transition in Dela V accelerator programme, co-created by IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and Ashoka. Since 2019, Dela has been dedicated to supporting social entrepreneurs around the world in testing and strengthening their systems change strategies.
We’re pleased to rewind the clock and share the highlights of the event that took place recently in Älmhult, Sweden - the heart of IKEA - from 4 – 7 February 2025.
The summit brought together the 11 participating social enterprises in Dela V and 24 Strategic Thought Partners (STPs) to engage in constructive conversations.
From theory to action: Towards a clearer business vision and mission
During the 4-day summit, entrepreneurs wrapped up the 6-month ‘strategy phase’ of the programme that consisted of analysing and developing strategies for their systematic milestones, with the support of business professionals from inside and outside IKEA. They presented their strategic updates, shared learnings and received feedback from their Thought Partners, as they embarked on the next 6-month 'scoping and experimentation phase’ of the programme. At this stage, Dela participants will be able to put their blueprints into practice, with the support of new IKEA co-workers in achieving this goal. "The Strategy Phase took around 6 months, and it was a short-term assignment I took side-by-side with my day job at IKEA as a Strategic Design Leader. It was a fantastic opportunity to add more leadership skills to my toolkit and learn about systems change and how to put the theory into practice in our weekly working sessions, knowing we are positively affecting the lives of millions of people with disabilities and reduced mobility," said Joana Veiga, Global Strategic Design Leader at IKEA and Thought Partner for ToDo Accessible.
ToDo Accessible is one of the 11 social enterprises participating in Dela V, who joined the summit from around the world, along with Collaborative Value, Fundación 26, Generation Girl, Institut F,InVento Innovation Lab, Mentor Together, Mocha Celis, QUEST Alliance, Racismo, and Virtualahan.
A significant flow of shared knowledge
Dela, which means ‘to share’ in Swedish, continues to demonstrate how the corporate and social entrepreneurship sectors can collaborate to exchange valuable learnings, and contribute to long-lasting, positive impact on a global scope. IKEA co-workers play an important role in supporting the participating social enterprises to further develop the impact of their solutions, with the aim of supporting people from vulnerable and marginalised groups.“I had a chance to discuss our strategy in detail with an incredible group of IKEA and other business leaders from the region. They became our advisory board for that afternoon, having studied our work with such impressive attention to detail. They’ve all navigated large companies and spoke practically and insightfully of what would make the most powerful case that mentoring matters to business KPIs. The Dela Summit brought out a more nuanced perspective that for businesses or social entrepreneurs, learning the language of another group can bring more power to your original purpose.” said Arundhuti Gupta, Founder and CEO of Mentor Together.
This close collaboration bridges the gap between the business and social entrepreneurship concepts. It also enables IKEA co-workers to gain insight into new markets, business models, and local contexts.
Together with Ashoka, we continue to evolve the Dela programme, leverage our expertise and networks to create a better everyday life for the many people through offering a safe space for entrepreneurs to address systemic challenges and scale their impact.
