Concordia crafts a family space for such youth daily where they receive the support they need and deserve.
NESsT focuses on improving economic autonomy because it improves community autonomy. As much as "Workforce Diversity and Inclusion" is used to solve this problem, it will not. We must pursue Workforce Equity and Justice.
Meet Victor. Victor is a coppersmith in the Romanian village of Brateiu. There used to be 200 Roma coppersmiths in his village. Now there are only six left. He says he’s proud he can continue to practice the craft of his ancestors and make a living doing so.
NESsT's portfolio director for the Andean Region offers three top tips for social entrepreneurs: (1) Look Deep, (2) Seek Feedback and (3) Test, Test, Test.
85 million people in Latin America live with a disability, yet only 10-20% participate in the workforce. Four social enterprises in the NESsT - IKEA Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator are building inclusive workplaces across Latin America.
To connect women to decent employment in well-paid sectors, while helping employers to become more gender inclusive, NESsT partnered with portfolio company Mamo Pracuj to create Talenti - a job-searching platform tailored to the employment needs of women.
Movimento Black Money (MBM) aims to transform the economic reality of the Black community in Brazil through entrepreneurship, education, and financial services. NESsT welcomed MBM into its portfolio to initially support Mercado Black Money, an online marketplace for Black-owned businesses, sustaining its growth with capital and business mentorship. Google for Startups announced Movimento Black Money as one of the 12 new Brazilian startups that will receive equity-free funding through its Black Founders Fund.
In Latin America, at least 430,000 tons of waste is produced daily, yet only two percent of total waste is recycled. Four social enterprises in the NESsT - IKEA Social Entrepreneurship Latin America Accelerator are reshaping unsustainable production and waste management patterns across Latin America. A circular economy model that reduces waste allows the region to preserve its biodiversity by offering opportunities to create regenerative value from its abundant natural resources.
On her ten mile walk from Henley to Reading, Claire Wilkinson, NESsT UK Board Member, reflects on the importance of supporting social enterprises to weather the adversity and inequalities brought on by the global challenge. She shares her insights on the transformative nature of social entrepreneurship in empowering disadvantaged communities and encourages donations to NESsT.
Most investments with a gender lens support companies led by women serving women, but this is not enough. Setting the intention to improve the lives of women is crucial because it sets to transform the negative ways in which people perceive gender differences. NESsT created a step-by-step process to investors develop their own gender lens investing (GLI) strategy.
In Latin America, while the participation of women in the labor market increased in recent years, women are still overrepresented in low-income or non-remunerated household work. Two social enterprises in the NESsT - IKEA Social Entrepreneurship Latin America Accelerator run training programs designed to help women land salaried employment, freelancing opportunities, and micro-entrepreneurship -- the choice is theirs!
A new multi-year partnership between NESsT and Erol Foundation will improve forest conservation by catalyzing local sustainable enterprises in areas of high biodiversity. The NESsT Amazonia incubator will support 15 conservation enterprises that improve forest conservation in the Amazon basin and provide sustainable livelihoods to local communities.
