PUTTING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ON THE MAP IN ETHIOPIA

Since Reach for Change launched in Ethiopia in 2015, the country has gone from being a blank spot on the map of social entrepreneurship to the host of the upcoming Social Entrepreneurship World Forum. The partnership with the IKEA Foundation is fundamental to Reach for Change’s work to promote social entrepreneurship and improve conditions for children in Africa’s second most populous country.

When Reach for Change launched its programs in Ethiopia in 2015, it was the first incubation program in the country specifically for social entrepreneurs.

“We were the first and only organization in Ethiopia focusing solely on social enterprise. We knew we had a lot of work to do to convince people that social entrepreneurship had the power to make a real, sustainable and lasting positive change on society” recalls Anna Chojnicka, Country Manager for Reach for Change in Ethiopia.

Despite the challenges of being a pioneer in the sector, we immediately saw the potential of working with social entrepreneurs to address the dire needs of children in Ethiopia.

“We found a number of exceptional entrepreneurs who were dedicated to developing businesses that not only generate profit but improve education, health, create quality jobs and build livelihoods,” says Anna Chojnicka.

In 2016, the IKEA foundation joined as an anchor partner, and the year after we jointly launched a three- year program focused on the potential of social entrepreneurship to improve early childhood development and primary education in Ethiopia. An aggressive target was set — to support and nurture 120 outstanding social entrepreneurs who will develop and scale up solutions impacting over 84,000 children (from birth to 15 years) and their families in urban and rural settings.

With a Swedish background and a mission to create brighter futures by helping children and families afford better lives, the IKEA Foundation was a natural partner. And two years down the line, we are well on the way to reaching the targets. To date, through the IKEA Foundation partnership, we have supported 79 social entrepreneurs, who have together impacted more than 66,000 children.

Amma Lartey,
Regional Director Africa, Reach for Change

 

“The fact that the Social Enterprise World Forum will be hosted in Ethiopia in 2019 is a testament to how much momentum the sector has generated in only a few years. We can’t wait to take the next step together with the IKEA Foundation and other brave partners to see this movement spread nationwide and inspire generations of social entrepreneurs to come.”

Patrick Obonyo,
Programme Manager, IKEA foundation

 

“We know that social entrepreneurs have a deep understanding of their local realities. This ensures their solutions are relevant for the communities, families and children that they seek to benefit. The IKEA Foundation believes that helping social entrepreneurs in Ethiopia to succeed is key to creating a lasting positive impact. In partnership with Reach for Change, the IKEA Foundation supports social entrepreneurs so that thousands of children in Ethiopia can enjoy better health, better education and a brighter future.”

Many of the social entrepreneurs have been able to drastically scale their impact through the support. One example is Ayatam Simineh, who has developed a model for providing free soap and hygiene training within schools to prevent absenteeism and the spread of diarrheal infections. Since he entered the Reach for Change incubator, Ayatam has been able to increase his revenues by 700 percent, allowing him to go from a one-man operation to a team of 15 people and extend his reach from two to 20 schools in Ethiopia.

Beyond impacting individual children, the social entrepreneurs in our programs are also role models for the emerging social entrepreneurship scene in Ethiopia. From experience in other markets across West Africa, Central Europe, the Baltics and Scandinavia, we know that these kinds of role models demonstrate the power of social entrepreneurs to tackle pressing challenges.

Establishing an ecosystem for social entrepreneurship has been key in Reach for Change’s work in Ethiopia. To boost this development, we have contributed as the founding partner for Social Enterprise Ethiopia (SEE), a locally led movement designed to create an environment where social enterprise can thrive in Ethiopia. SEE received recognition as a formal association in November 2018.