Impact Now with Amit Bouri | Marilia Bezerra of IKEA Foundation

Why It Matters

The integrated, impact‑investment‑enabled strategy positions the IKEA Foundation to mobilize scarce capital toward systemic climate‑livelihood solutions in emerging markets, setting a template for philanthropy to drive measurable, scalable change.

Key Takeaways

• IKEA Foundation integrates climate and livelihoods into a single strategic pillar.
• Focus shifts to impact investing in emerging economies, only 2‑3% funded now.
• Adopt a systems lens, targeting ecosystem-wide change rather than isolated grants.
• Commitment to localization empowers local actors to design and implement solutions.
• New Dutch law enables charitable foundations to make public‑benefit impact investments.

Summary

The IKEA Foundation unveiled a refreshed strategy that merges its historic climate and people pillars into a unified approach, emphasizing that climate action must directly improve livelihoods. This shift reflects a broader industry realization that climate financing from philanthropy is minuscule—just 2‑3% of total climate funds—and that emerging economies remain severely under‑served. Key elements of the new strategy include a systems‑lens grantmaking model, a focus on people‑centric, climate‑positive pathways in low‑income markets, and a firm commitment to localization—handing decision‑making power to those closest to the challenges. The foundation also announced its first foray into impact investing, made possible by a 2024 Dutch law allowing charitable foundations to deploy public‑benefit capital, with grant and investment teams now operating under a single impact‑outcome framework. Illustrative moments from the interview highlight the foundation’s pragmatic balance of urgency and patience: “we have to whistle and chew gum at the same time,” says Marilia, underscoring the need for early wins alongside long‑term structural reforms. Brazil serves as a test case, where policy reform, market incentives, and local institution strengthening are pursued simultaneously, and where the same outcome metrics guide both grants and impact investments. The strategy signals to donors, impact investors, and development partners that coordinated, locally‑led, and system‑wide interventions are now the norm for large‑scale philanthropy. By aligning capital with measurable policy, market, and narrative shifts, the IKEA Foundation aims to catalyze scalable, self‑reinforcing solutions that close the financing gap for sustainable development.

Original Description

In this episode of Impact Now, Amit Bouri, co-founder and CEO of the GIIN, sits down with Marilia Bezerra, Chief Programmes Officer at the IKEA Foundation.

Marilia shares the foundation's new strategy and how it is thinking about systems change, impact investing and philanthropy's role in addressing global challenges. The conversation dives into:

The integration of climate and livelihoods

The importance of locally led solutions

The opportunities and challenges of measuring systems change

How impact-first capital can help unlock investment where it is needed most.

Impact Now with Amit Bouri spotlights candid conversations with leaders who are building a better world through impact investing.