The IKEA Foundation is a strategic philanthropy that focuses its grant-making efforts on tackling the two biggest threats to children’s futures: poverty and climate change. Since 2009, the IKEA Foundation has granted more than EUR 1.5 billion to create a better future for children and their families. In 2021, the Foundation decided to make an additional EUR 1 billion available over the next five years to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Development Co-operation Profiles
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IKEA Foundation
Introduction
Private development finance
The IKEA Foundation provided USD 260.7 million for development in 2022 through its grant-making activities. Compared to 2021, this amount represents an increase of 0.1% in real terms.
Note: The IKEA Foundation’s data for 2015-18 are partial, only including grants aligned with the foundation’s 2018 strategic framework and still active in 2021. Grants that have been agreed upon under the former strategy or grants that were concluded in 2020 but for which payments were still made in 2021-22 are not included.
Support to Ukraine
In 2022, the IKEA Foundation provided USD 26.3 million of gross development finance to Ukraine to respond to the impacts of Russia’s war of aggression.
COVID-19 response
In 2022, the IKEA Foundation provided USD 7.2 million to support developing countries’ COVID-19 response. Of this, 54% concerned activities to control the spread of the coronavirus through medical interventions.
Bilateral and multilateral allocations
In 2022, the IKEA Foundation channelled its development finance mostly through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society (USD 192.2 million), multilateral organisations (USD 25.6 million) and universities, research institutes or think‑tanks (USD 21.4 million).
Note: The IKEA Foundation’s data for 2015-18 are partial, only including grants aligned with the foundation’s 2018 strategic framework and still active in 2021. Grants that have been agreed upon under the former strategy or grants that were concluded in 2020 but for which payments were still made in 2021-22 are not included.
Multilateral channels
In 2022, IKEA Foundation provided USD 25.6 million to the multilateral system, representing 9.8% of its development finance, all of which were earmarked for specific countries, regions, themes or purposes. These multilateral contributions were provided to the United Nations (UN) entities and the World Bank Group.
Note: The IKEA Foundation’s data for 2015-18 are partial, only including grants aligned with the foundation’s 2018 strategic framework and still active in 2021. Grants that have been agreed upon under the former strategy or grants that were concluded in 2020 but for which payments were still made in 2021-22 are not included.
The United Nations (UN) system received USD 25 million from the IKEA Foundation in 2022, accounting for 97.5% of the IKEA Foundation’s contributions to the multilateral system. The most significant UN recipients were UNHCR (USD 22.5 million), UNOPS (USD 1 million) and UNICEF (USD 524 thousand).
Civil society organisations
In 2022, civil society organisations (CSOs) received USD 192.2 million of the IKEA Foundation’s gross development finance. Of this, 3.4% was allocated to CSOs as core support, while the remaining 96.6% was earmarked to specific projects or programmes. While most of these contributions were provided to NGOs in donor countries and international NGOs, 20.9% was extended to recipient country-based organisations.
Learn more about the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid.
Note: The IKEA Foundation’s data for 2015-18 are partial, only including grants aligned with the foundation’s 2018 strategic framework and still active in 2021. Grants that have been agreed upon under the former strategy or grants that were concluded in 2020 but for which payments were still made in 2021-22 are not included.
Geographic and thematic focus
In 2022, the IKEA Foundation’s development finance was primarily focused on Africa and South Asia. USD 78.1 million was allocated to Africa and USD 53.5 million to South Asia, accounting respectively for 30% and 20.5% of gross development finance. A sum of USD 84.6 million (32.4%) was unspecified by region in 2022, mainly including multi-regional programmes. In this context, USD 3.2 million was provided in support of refugees and asylum-seekers in donor countries.
Figure. Bilateral private development finance by recipient country
Note: The IKEA Foundation’s data for 2015-18 are partial, only including grants aligned with the foundation’s 2018 strategic framework and still active in 2021. Grants that have been agreed upon under the former strategy or grants that were concluded in 2020 but for which payments were still made in 2021-22 are not included.
In 2022, 58.4% of gross development finance went to the top 10 recipients, most notably India, Kenya, Ukraine, Uganda and Indonesia.
Least developed countries (LDCs) received USD 35.5 million (13.6%) of the IKEA Foundation’s gross disbursements in 2022. The IKEA Foundation allocated the highest share (44.1%) of its development finance to lower middle-income countries in 2022, noting that USD 106.4 million (40.8%) was unallocated by income group.
Notes: LDC: least developed country; LIC: low-income country; LMIC: lower middle-income country; UMIC: upper middle-income country; MADCTs: more advanced developing countries and territories. The IKEA Foundation’s data for 2015-18 are partial, only including grants aligned with the foundation’s 2018 strategic framework and still active in 2021. Grants that have been agreed upon under the former strategy or grants that were concluded in 2020 but for which payments were still made in 2021-22 are not included.
Furthermore, the IKEA Foundation allocated USD 33.3 million of its development finance to land-locked developing countries in 2022.
Fragile contexts
Support to fragile contexts reached USD 58.6 million in 2022, representing 22.5% of the IKEA Foundation’s development finance.
Notes: HDP: humanitarian-development-peace. The chart represents only gross bilateral contributions that are allocated by country. The IKEA Foundation’s data for 2015-18 are partial, only including grants aligned with the foundation’s 2018 strategic framework and still active in 2021. Grants that have been agreed upon under the former strategy or grants that were concluded in 2020 but for which payments were still made in 2021-22 are not included.
Sectors
In 2022, 40.2% of the IKEA Foundation’s contributions were allocated to social infrastructure and services, 28.2% to economic infrastructure and services and 12.3% to production sectors, and 10.1% to multi-sector such as general environmental protection. In terms of sectors, the IKEA Foundation’s largest allocations went to health and population (USD 87 million), energy (USD 62.5 million), agriculture, forestry and fishing (USD 41.4 million), financial and business services (USD 32.1 million) and general environmental policy (USD 32.1 million). Humanitarian assistance amounted to USD 29.6 million.
Sustainable Development Goals
In 2022, the IKEA Foundation committed the largest shares of its contributions to reduced inequalities (SDG 10), climate action (SDG 13) and zero hunger (SDG 2) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Support for gender equality and women’s empowerment amounted to USD 10.1 million. Contributions to combatting climate change totalled USD 152.3 million.
Additional resources
Official website: https://ikeafoundation.org
The methodological notes provide further details on the definitions and statistical methodologies applied, including core and earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations, the Sustainable Development Goal focus of private development finance, channels of delivery, unspecified/unallocated allocations, the gender equality policy marker, and the environment markers.