The Social Enterprise Accelerator Malaysia (SEAM) has announced nine Malaysian impact-driven enterprises selected for its second cohort, as social entrepreneurship continues to gain momentum across the country.
The 12-month programme, run by Biji-biji Initiative in partnership with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and supported by IKEA Malaysia, aims to help social enterprises strengthen their business models, organisational capabilities and long-term sustainability while expanding their social and environmental impact.
The new cohort spans Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Kelantan and Sabah, with participating organisations working across inclusive employment, the circular economy, sustainable food and agriculture, and aquaculture and marine livelihoods.
Collectively, the nine enterprises create economic opportunities for communities including B40 youth, single mothers, women from the Asnaf community, persons with disabilities (PwD), refugees, marginalised artisans and coastal fishing families.
SEAM is designed to help impact-driven organisations scale sustainably through tailored capacity building, mentorship, strategic support, funding and access to wider networks.
Building on the First SEAM Cohort
Cohort 2 builds on the progress recorded by SEAM’s inaugural cohort of 10 social enterprises.
The first cohort received tailored business development and mentoring, alongside access to funding, networks and market opportunities. The programme was established to help Malaysian social enterprises address social and environmental challenges while strengthening their ability to grow.
Among the reported achievements from the first cohort, seven of 10 participating enterprises recorded top-line revenue growth, while nine reported improved financial stability and cost discipline. Eight also expanded their active reach among the communities they serve.
Individual enterprises recorded further commercial and operational gains. Earth Heir added RM429,293 in B2B orders for Earth Heir Collective, Batik Boutique doubled its weekly fabric output, while Upcycled more than doubled its baseline income and generated more than RM101,200 in direct community wages.
For SEAM Programme Director and Biji-biji Initiative Chief Executive Officer Juliana Adam, the first cohort demonstrated that social enterprises can take different routes towards growth.
“Cohort 1 reinforced that there is no single pathway to scale. For one enterprise, growth may mean entering a new market; for another, it could mean strengthening production, building a team or becoming ready for corporate procurement,” she said.
She added that the challenge is to bridge proven community impact with the capabilities required to grow sustainably, from winning customers and building partnerships to strengthening internal systems without losing sight of the communities and purpose behind each enterprise.
Meet the Nine Impact-Driven Enterprises
The nine organisations selected for SEAM Cohort 2 represent a range of approaches to social entrepreneurship in Malaysia.
Brutti is a sustainable furniture social enterprise based in Kota Kinabalu that creates dignified livelihoods for B40 youth communities in Sabah. Using reclaimed pallet wood, it produces bespoke furniture for homeowners and B2B clients while diverting more than 57 tonnes of waste and preserving an estimated 600 trees.
Dodo Vegan Hut is a halal-certified plant-based food enterprise providing sustainable food products alongside employment opportunities for B40 communities. Its portfolio includes frozen vegan meals and SAKRAE coconut ice cream, with products reaching hotels, restaurants and cafés across Malaysia.
Enable OKU Solutions (ENOKU) focuses on employment opportunities and workplace inclusion for persons with disabilities. Through diversity, equity and inclusion training, tailored employment placement and long-term inclusion frameworks, ENOKU works with multinational corporations to create more inclusive workplaces.
Green Shoots transforms corporate spending on gifts and packaging into social and environmental impact through circular product design and responsible production. The enterprise creates income opportunities for underserved women while reducing waste and reinvesting revenue into therapy support and wellbeing initiatives.
Heartworks Solution provides flexible employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, single mothers, caregivers and women who face barriers to traditional employment. Its virtual assistant model combines paid work with training, guidance and ongoing support, with a growing community of 30 virtual assistants serving corporate clients including Naluri, SEEK Asia and Malaysia Food & Travel.
Ibupreneur supports Asnaf women and single mothers from B40 communities through its Maker Hub marketplace and Academy. The enterprise reports that 659 mothers across 11 states have increased their incomes by an average of 86% within 12 months, with corporate clients including Mandarin Oriental and Banyan Tree.
Koperasi Penternak Akuakultur (KoAKUA) supports coastal fishing communities in Kelantan by pooling resources and strengthening distribution for its 50 members. By reducing dependence on intermediaries, the cooperative aims to improve returns for traditional fishermen and farmers while developing additional products, including salted duck eggs and smoked duck, to create income beyond the fishing season.
PichaEats creates livelihood opportunities for refugee communities in Malaysia by supporting Syrian, Afghan, Myanmar and Palestinian individuals as chefs, caterers and culinary apprentices. Its services include catering, meal box deliveries, cultural dining experiences and skills development, connecting the culinary heritage of displaced communities with customers.
Sagemaker Asia is a community-powered production enterprise connecting marginalised artisans with skills development, employment and commercial opportunities. Through its Rumah Sage production house in Ampang, more than 70 Sagemakers produce sensory materials, upcycled products and bespoke corporate merchandise for clients including PETRONAS and Pos Malaysia.
A Tailored Approach to Sustainable Growth
Rather than applying a standardised curriculum, SEAM takes a tailored approach based on each organisation’s growth priorities, challenges and operating context.
Participants are paired with IKEA senior leaders and co-workers who serve as Thought Partners, while also gaining access to industry mentors, experts, strategic advisory support and wider ecosystem connections.
The approach is designed to give each enterprise space to test assumptions, strengthen internal systems and refine the decisions needed for its next stage of growth.
Participants will also have access to a programme funding pool of up to RM750,000, with financial support linked to the business growth roadmaps developed and refined throughout the programme.
Åsa Skogström Feldt, Managing Director of IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, said scaling a social enterprise should not simply mean becoming bigger, but becoming stronger through better capabilities, partnerships and business foundations.
“What makes SEAM important is that the journey is shaped around the realities of each enterprise. By bringing together social entrepreneurs, IKEA co-workers as Thought Partners, specialist mentors and funding, we can create the space for entrepreneurs to test decisions, learn and build a more resilient pathway for their business and their impact,” she said.
Testing Growth Strategies Through 2027
The nine enterprises will begin the programme with a Strategy & Scoping phase, working with their Thought Partners and the Biji-biji Initiative team to refine their growth priorities and develop a Growth Experimentation Plan (GEP).
From January to August 2027, the programme will move into its Experimentation & Learning phase. Participants will put their strategies into practice through continued Thought Partner engagement, mentorship, field visits and learning opportunities, allowing them to test and adapt their approaches based on real-world results.
The programme will conclude with a Closing Summit and final reports documenting the outcomes, pivots and lessons generated throughout the year.
Strengthening Malaysia’s Social Enterprise Ecosystem
SEAM Cohort 2 comes as Malaysia continues to build a stronger ecosystem for social enterprises and impact-driven businesses. The programme itself is part of a wider effort to address gaps in funding, capacity building and collaboration that can limit the ability of social enterprises to scale.
Biji-biji Initiative has described SEAM as an accelerator designed to strengthen organisations addressing social and environmental challenges while supporting sustainable growth and community impact.
For the new cohort, the longer-term ambition is to build stronger, more resilient social enterprises that can continue supporting marginalised communities across Malaysia.
By strengthening business capacity and creating pathways for sustainable growth, SEAM aims to help these enterprises deepen their impact while developing a more resilient Malaysian social entrepreneurship ecosystem.
