Reach for Change Sweden launches a new initiative to reach social entrepreneurs in socio-economically vulnerable areas
Epic member Reach for Change has together with a local incubator BLING Startup been granted support from the Swedish Postcode Foundation. The initiative aims to work for a more inclusive social innovation sector and empower social entrepreneurs from socio-economically vulnerable areas.
“For 10 years, Reach for Change has worked to identify and support social entrepreneurs in Sweden and around the world. We see that those who live close to the problems are those who are best suited to solve them. But there are structural challenges that make it more difficult for some local innovators to be successful – for example, depending on where they grow up, they may not have access to capacity building support, networks and capital. This means that society is missing out on social innovations with the potential to create real change”, says Nicklas Wallberg Country Manager Sweden, Reach for Change.
Through the initiative, Reach for Change and BLING Startup will make entrepreneurship more accessible and recognized as a potential career path in socio-economically vulnerable areas in Sweden. The organizations will develop collaborations with the local community, the public sector and the business sector with the goal to connect these communities with the assets available in the greater Swedish startup ecosystem.
The key activity for the initiative is the Entrepreneurship Competition “För-orten” (For the suburb), that was initiated by BLING Startup, BK Bussen and Atletico Rinkeby in 2018. The competition, which previously was held in one community outside of Stockholm, will expand next year into a national initiative.
“Through the competition, we provide an infrastructure that evens out the conditions in the entrepreneurship sector and makes more people dare to go after and realize their dreams and ideas,” says Deqa Abukar, co-founder of BLING Startup.
