Vulnerabilities in Food Systems and Livelihoods

Climate change, supply chain disruptions and social inequality are placing increasing strain on food systems across Asia. Vulnerable and marginalised communities are often the most exposed to these challenges, particularly where access to stable livelihoods and sustainable food production is limited. Social enterprises working in food and agriculture are often closest to these issues, yet many face constraints in scaling their impact.

Enabling Inclusive and Resilient Communities

Through IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, IKEA supports inclusive growth by empowering enterprises that create social value alongside economic opportunity. This aligns with DFI’s broader commitment to community resilience, sustainable livelihoods and inclusive development across the markets it serves.

Accelerating Social Innovation through Partnerships

IKEA Indonesia has supported the Instellar–IKEA Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator (I SEA), which kicked off in 2024 in partnership with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and Instellar Impact. The programme aims to enhance the impact of social enterprises for marginalised communities, focusing on livelihood, equality, and inclusion. In 2025, the programme continued to make progress with its third cohort, welcoming ten enterprises into a year-long journey of growth and collaboration.

Building on the success from Indonesia, IKEA Taiwan partners with Social Enterprise Insights (SEI) to support social enterprises operating at the intersection of food, agriculture and social inclusion. The partnership was introduced at the Food and Agriculture Social Innovation Workshop in Taipei as an official Fringe Day event of the Social Enterprise World Forum 2025, bringing together more than 100 local and international ecosystem partners. Combining SEI’s local expertise with IKEA’s global networks and business capabilities, it explores an accelerator model tailored to Taiwan’s local context, to translate social innovation into tangible outcomes such as inclusive job creation, community based services and more resilient food systems.