2019 Change Leaders
A Catalyst for Change
On January 30th, Kinnevik’s long-term partner Reach for Change welcomed three new organizations to their Swedish incubator. They have all shown proof of visionary and innovative ideas with the potential to impact the lives of many children.
The winners receive financial and advisory support for up to five years to develop their idea and make a great difference for children. This year's Change Leaders are Kassim Nagwere with the initiative Drömstort, Jenny Sköld and Lotta Bergseth with Mobile stories and Mikaela Illanes and Mark Smith with Inicio.
Nagwere: Drömstort
Many young people growing up in the suburbs lack role models and feel ignored. Without self-esteem and goals many kids develop a destructuve behaviour. Drömstort motivates young people in these areas to dream again through workshops, lectures, tutoring and sports- and cultural activities.
Sköld & Bergseth: Mobile stories
Fake news and anti-democratic movements. The complex information landscape makes in increasingly difficult for the readers to determin the credibility of their sources. As a result, youth today have high mistrust in society, media and politicians. Mobile stories is a publishing tool, educating students in media and information skills while they are producing their hand-ins.
Illanes & Smith: Inicio
Inicio empowers students to develop their talents by offering hands-on practice with digital technology and electronics. Through physical platforms with mentors and tools for experimenting, Inico increases the technological literacy in Sweden.
To drive social innovation
Kinnevik is a founding partner of Reach for Change and through investing in Reach for Change's capacity-building and support of social enterprises, Kinnevik actively invests in social change and impact across three continents. Their Swedish incubator focuses on social entrepreneurs whose work is improving the lives of children and young people in Sweden. In addition to the Swedish market, Reach for Change is active in 18 markets and currently supports 138 entrepreneurs globally via its programs.
To drive social innovation across all sectors, the Reach for Change partner portfolio is a mix from the corporate, public and NGO sector. On stage for the announcement of the three winners, the two jury members Samuel Skott, Executive Vice President B2C Sweden at Tele2, together with Judit Wefer, Director for Social Innovation at Vinnova, highlighted the strong leaders in the selected organizations and the complexity in building a sustainable business while simultaneously tackling pressing social issues.
