How we’re helping women build brighter futures for their families

It’s International Women’s Day, and we’re celebrating the achievements of millions of women who are making a better life for themselves and their children, thanks to the programmes we fund.

The IKEA Foundation believes that they can be the most powerful agents for change in their children’s lives. By empowering girls and women – through education, skills training, improved healthcare, or providing a loan to set up a small business—we can improve children’s health, education and future opportunities.

Scholarships and skills training

That’s why the IKEA Foundation is happy to announce a new grant of €2.9 million to the Lila Poonawalla Foundation to help Indian women become economically independent. This grant funds scholarships for those living in poverty to get the education, job placement services, counselling, mentoring and skills training they need to become successful professionals.

Also in India, the IKEA Foundation is funding an ambitious programme to transform the lives of a million women by teaching them marketable skills, connecting them with income opportunities and enabling them to become self-sufficient.

The Disha programme is being implemented by Xyntéo, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and India Development Foundation. One of the participants, who quit an unrewarding job at a nuts and bolts plant and enrolled on a skills-training programme in the stainless steel industry, said: “This is a lifetime opportunity for me. More than just a job, this is a chance to show my community that I can be anybody I want to be.”

Per Heggenes, IKEA Foundation CEO, says: “When women earn a sustainable income, their children are more likely to grow up healthy and go to school. By investing in women, we are investing in better future opportunities for their children.”