Corporate-Social Partnerships Drive Scalable Impact

During the event, Stories That Unlock the Impossible, a special edition of the Social Entrepreneurship Book Club organized by IKEA Social, entrepreneurship ecosystem leaders shared insights on building partnerships capable of delivering impact at scale. Speakers emphasized that integrating sustainability into core operations enables companies to align impact with business strategy.

Daniela Brito, Head of Sustainability, IKEA Mexico, highlighted the role of collaboration in accelerating solutions to environmental and social challenges. Her work is linked to acceleration efforts developed with Ashoka through the Hola America (Hello America) initiative. “Innovation within a corporation is not imposed; it is demonstrated. Sometimes the return is not immediate margin, but reputation, trust, and connection with new markets,” she said.

Brito also stressed that embedding sustainability into organizational culture is key to implementation, noting that IKEA stores have sustainability ambassadors across departments. “Sustainability cannot be an isolated area; it must cut across the entire operation,” she said.

Karla del Pino, Country Commercial Activity Leader, IKEA Mexico, described how collaboration with social enterprise Básicos de México evolved into a strategic partnership. The textile company works with family workshops and migrant women to transform materials into products.

The partnership faced challenges related to production volumes, certifications and corporate timelines, which were addressed through co-creation and operational flexibility. “Scaling impact means assuming shared risk. When we decided to be flexible, it was not charity, it was believing in the model,” she said.

As some products showed low turnover, the collaboration shifted toward a circular economy model through upcycling processes, allowing inventory to be repurposed while maintaining production. “Communities do not need saviors, they need strategic allies,” she added.

Cynthia Castro, Representative, New Ventures, highlighted the role of the Mexico Accelerator Programme (MAP) in strengthening impact-driven businesses through mentorship, experimentation, and access to corporate capabilities. The initiative, led by New Ventures in collaboration with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and supported by IKEA Mexico, opened applications for its sixth edition in January, selecting 10 Mexican companies with measurable social or environmental impact. 

Selected participants will receive tailored strategic support, specialized mentorship, tools to strengthen business performance and impact measurement, as well as access to corporate partners, investors and key ecosystem stakeholders.

“Working with social entrepreneurs allows us to see the world through a solution-oriented lens. Their innovations demonstrate that social and environmental challenges can be addressed through sustainable business models,” said Armando Laborde, Managing Partner, New Ventures.

Other ecosystem actors also underscored the importance of collaboration. Mauricio Martínez, Head of the Development of Strategic Alliances department, La Mano del Mono, sustainable tourism organization, shared his experience scaling a technology-driven environmental conservation model. Meanwhile Gonzalo San Martín, Representative, NESsT, a global organization that supports the growth of social enterprises, emphasized the importance of a gender lens, noting strong performance among women-led enterprises in terms of growth and resilience.

The gathering concluded that partnerships between corporations and social enterprises can function as infrastructure to scale solutions to environmental and social challenges. To achieve this, participants emphasized the need to build long-term relationships, as well as collaboration mechanisms that integrate impact into core business operations.