Reach for Change

📢 Changemakers, let’s decarbonise fashion! Do you have an idea for sustainable materials and processes, responsible production, mindful consumption, or a wildcard that can accelerate the textile industry towards net zero?  We’re backing the H&M Foundation in its search for ten winners. The winners will receive a grant of 200,000 EUR and access to a one-year Changemaker Programme. Are you one of the early-stage innovators they are looking for? Reach out to us through info@reachforchange.org. Learn more at globalchangeaward.com. #decarbonisingfashion #fashioninnovation

End the year on a hopeful note! 🥳 It's almost time for our annual pitch event in Sweden. Join us to hear three entrepreneurs pitch for a total of 175,000 SEK. You'll also find out which four entrepreneurs will secure a spot in our Swedish incubator, and you'll have the opportunity to mingle with members of the impact community. 🗓️ Be sure to mark December 12th on your calendar. More information will be coming in the weeks ahead, so stay tuned!

🚨 Opportunity Alert! Applications are now open for the 2nd Cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship! This 3-year program is dedicated to bridging the education gap for underserved young people in Ethiopia. Join the 2nd cohort if you are leading an innovative EdTech enterprise that enhances inclusive learning in Ethiopia and benefit from coaching, funding, networking, and post-acceleration support to grow sustainably. 🗓️ Apply by November 24 👉 https://lnkd.in/dHXMumUR Let’s transform education together! #EdTech #Cohort2 #Fellowship #Ethiopia #InclusiveLearning #Education

🥳 Attention social entrepreneurs, partners, peers, and friends of Reach for Change in Addis! We have an exciting announcement! We are teaming up with the Nordic Embassies in Ethiopia, Plogging-Ethiopia Ethiopia, and other stakeholders for the Call to Action Clean-up Campaign on November 5, 2024, at Yeka Park in Addis Ababa. This event is part of our upcoming initiative, "Partnering for Change," a Nordic-Ethiopia dialogue to promote innovation for environmental sustainability. Together, we will take action to protect our environment, raise awareness about sustainability, and contribute to a cleaner, healthier community. If you are in Addis, we invite you to join us for this impactful experience. 🌱💪 Let us show that every small step counts toward a sustainable future. 🔗 Register for the event via this link: https://lnkd.in/gJcUhUA6 #NordicsForEnvironment #Sustainability #CleanUpEthiopia #GreenCommunity #EcoFriendly #ClimateAction #TogetherForThePlanet

We are committed to providing valuable tools and tailored support to local social entrepreneurs, helping them achieve their goals and foster future innovation. 🚀 One of the tools we offer is the Research Assistant, designed to strengthen and scale social entrepreneurs' efforts. This conversational AI tool enables users to conduct intelligent searches for reliable social data and track the outcomes of the issues they aim to address in near real-time. Last Friday, we hosted an engaging session where we answered your questions about the Research Assistant. Thank you to everyone who participated in the AMA session! If you couldn't join us, you can find the recording 👉 https://lnkd.in/dXGhfvSi. To learn more about the tool and to sign up, visit 🔗 https://lnkd.in/da8kB2Sb. #AIforImpact #ResearchAssistant #SocialEntrepreneurship #PartneringforChange

On October 25th, our graduating entrepreneurs in the final stages of our Swedish incubator participated in an insightful virtual pitch workshop led by Elsa Hyland. Elsa is an angel investor, startup advisor, mentor, and board executive with a strong background in venture capital. During the workshop, she shared invaluable expertise to help these founders prepare for funding at our annual Pitching for Change event on December 12. Stay tuned for more details! 🚨 Key takeaways? 💡 A winning pitch hinges on compelling storytelling, understanding your audience, and keeping it simple, personal, and practical. And, of course, practice, practice, practice! Thank you, Elsa, for empowering our entrepreneurs with these essential skills and insights!

🗣️ Do you have questions or need further clarity about our Research Assistant? Join us on Zoom to ask all your questions about the Research Assistant! Register if you are yet to do so 👉 https://lnkd.in/d3S6tHiu. 🔗 Learn more about the Research Assistant here: https://lnkd.in/da8kB2Sb

This month, we welcomed 30 members of the Baltic Sea Impact Network (BSIN) from six countries to meet in Tallinn for our maiden Community Event. 🌟 As a special highlight, members also participated in Impact Day, the largest festival dedicated to impact and sustainability in the Baltics and Nordics! 🌐 Members travelled from as far as Kyiv, Ukraine, to connect face-to-face and explore potential collaboration opportunities. Thank you to Nina Miller and Samuel Põldaru for leading engaging workshops that helped members enhance their networking and pitching skills. 💬 “I had a fantastic experience at the event, particularly enjoying the in-person networking opportunities and the interactive workshops. It was a great chance to connect with like-minded professionals, making the event both enriching and inspiring,” said Annelie Hultman of The Good Talents, reflecting on the value of the experience. Thank you to everyone who joined us! Learn more about the experience in the article 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dwXAfpPP 📸: Rasmus Kooskora 🤝 The Baltic Sea Impact Network is implemented with the support of the Svenska institutet and in partnership with Reach for Change (Sweden), Reach for Change Baltics, Social Enterprise Estonia, the Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia (Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija), and the Lithuanian Social Business Association. #FundedbySI #socialentrepreneurship #peersupport

I joined the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Responsible Leaders Innovation Forum a couple of weeks ago in Berlin. Focus was on how innovation and entrepreneurship can tackle societal and environmental problems. Some of my key take-aways: 🚀 The recent Draghi report found that Europe has serious challenges in competitiveness. Yanis Varoufakis talked about Europe falling behind in regards to the development of green and cloud-based tech especially. To increase innovation and ultimately a green and just transition - innovation and local entrepreneurs play a crucial role. These local actors can play a critical and often under-estimated role in a more inclusive transition. Because if we are to remain competitive, we need to include all facets of our human capital and rich societies. 🤝 Helle Thorning-Schmidt and others spoke about the decline of trust today - in politicians, in media, and in society in general, and how we need to create more partnerships where we actually listen to eachother. Local communities play a big role here. Often times trust of local politicians is for example higher than trust in national politicians. Working with local social entrepreneurs every day, I see that they play a crucial role in this "trust transition." 💎 I had many discussions on how we can invest smartly to tackle some of our main challenges. Entrepreneurs tackling these challenges need both capacity support, network and access to funding. Thanks to Shiva Dustdar for interesting discussions on the role of philanthropy in de-risking these smaller tickets, and thanks to Marie-Louise Köhl Harritsø for talks on how we can use blended financing models to meet the needs of local entrepreneurs. 👑 Lastly - I always love meeting inspirational entrepreneurs & inspirational women leaders - shout out to Narmada Ramakrishna who is working on some inspiring things in revolutionising fashion, traceability and local production. And thanks to Amani Abou-Zeid أماني أبوزيد for the most poignant message - "a time of crisis is the opportunity to take the tough decisions you have not dared take before." #responsibleleaders #partneringforchange

🌟 Exciting highlights from our networking event for the Building Waste and Circular Enterprises in Ethiopia program in partnership with the IKEA Foundation! At the event, our entrepreneurs shared their circular innovations and key stakeholders engaged in insightful conversations on ways to support these innovators to turn waste into valuable resources. 🌱 Our Country Manager, Mekdim Gullilat Aberra, emphasized that the future of our planet hinges on our ability to innovate and create circular enterprises for economic growth.  🎯 Thought-provoking discussion moderated by Dawit Tilahun featured Change Leaders Bruk Tsehaye and Bethlehem Ayele from the Green Business Incubator program as a lead-up to our soon-to-be-launched "Change Talks" in Ethiopia - watch this space for more updates. 💡 Professor Firew K. Mekonnen, founder of Plogging Ethiopia, spoke about how a Sunday activity with family became an environmental awareness movement with Plogging Ethiopia. 🖼️ Change Leaders showcased their green businesses at Anaphora Ethiopic Arts Gallery with a photo exhibition and networking bingo game. ♻️ What's next? We are building momentum toward an environmental sustainability event to boost our commitment to Ethiopia's Green Future with the Embassies of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark in Addis Ababa! More updates to follow pretty soon! 🚀 #GreenInnovation #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #ReachForChange #CleanUpCampaign