The Social Enterprise Accelerator Malaysia (SEAM) convened corporate leaders, ecosystem builders and policymakers at its SEAM Closing Summit 2026, marking the successful completion of SEAM Cohort 1 and spotlighting 10 Malaysian social enterprises delivering measurable impact across inclusive employment, circular economy and waste management, and sustainable agriculture and renewable materials.
SEAM is a partnership between Biji-biji Initiative and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, with the support of IKEA Malaysia. The 15-month accelerator programme is designed to strengthen Malaysia’s social enterprise ecosystem through capability building, market access and partnership enablement. The Closing Summit underscored how social enterprises can move beyond short-term grant dependency to become business-ready and corporate-ready, unlocking scalable, long-term partnerships.
The summit brought together stakeholders from across the corporate and social enterprise ecosystem, including representatives from the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP), Institut Keusahawanan Negara Berhad (INSKEN), as well as programme partners Sustainable Creative & Innovation Centre (SCENIC), Selangor Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) and the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Development (CSED). Corporate leaders, ecosystem builders and impact practitioners gathered with a shared commitment to advancing meaningful, impact-driven collaboration.
Malaysia’s social enterprise ecosystem continues to grow amid persistent livelihood challenges. Income security disparities remain pronounced, with rural poverty estimated at around 12%, significantly higher than urban poverty levels of approximately 3.7%. At the same time, Malaysian companies are facing increasing pressure to demonstrate credible ESG practices as sustainability reporting requirements tighten for listed issuers.
Against this backdrop, the SEAM Closing Summit demonstrated how social enterprises are already translating inclusive and sustainable ambitions into real-world outcomes — from job creation and income generation to circular solutions and scalable corporate partnerships.
A core highlight of the summit was Impact Xchange, a curated session providing corporates with direct access to social enterprise founders and their business models. Social enterprises delivered elevator pitches grouped by thematic focus areas:
Inclusive Employment
Angel Community, Batik Boutique, Earth Heir, Lemme Learn, The Asli Co.
These enterprises showcased how they create dignified income and employment opportunities for underserved communities, including women, artisans, Orang Asli communities, refugees and neurodiverse individuals, through commercially viable models. Notably, The Asli Co. was nationally recognised when Her Majesty the Queen consented to select handmade products by B40 women, single mothers and Orang Asli communities as Istana Negara souvenirs, reflecting growing recognition of community-made products within Malaysia’s national narrative.
Circular Economy & Waste Management
Saving Graze, Moms Village, Oupus Organics, Upcycled
Founders highlighted innovative approaches to transforming food waste, plastic waste and discarded materials into products, jobs and scalable circular solutions rooted in community participation.
Sustainable Agriculture & Renewable Materials
Jiwa Asli Organik
This session focused on indigenous-led sustainable agriculture, food security and renewable materials, demonstrating how climate-smart farming can strengthen livelihoods while protecting ecosystems.
The summit also featured Corporate × Impact Business Speed Dating, a fast-paced matchmaking session enabling seven-minute, curated conversations between corporates — including Telekom Malaysia, PLUS, CIMB Islamic and Hong Leong Group, among others — and social enterprises. Discussions centred on procurement opportunities, services, workshops and long-term collaborations, offering practical insight into how impact partnerships can be operationalised.
Juliana Adam, Chief Executive Officer of Biji-biji Initiative, said, “Building a future-ready Malaysia requires us to rethink how opportunity, sustainability and inclusion come together. What SEAM has demonstrated is that social enterprises are not peripheral to this agenda — they are capable of creating jobs, strengthening communities and delivering solutions that corporates can work with at scale.”
Åsa Skogström Feldt, Managing Director of IKEA Social Entrepreneurship B.V., added, “Social enterprises play a key role in building inclusive economies, and long-term impact depends on strong business foundations and, in some cases, broader system-level change. SEAM was designed to strengthen market readiness and operational capabilities, enabling social enterprises to expand beyond project-based initiatives and engage in scalable partnerships with corporates and consumers.”
As SEAM concludes its first cohort, the programme is now focused on expanding pathways for more social enterprises to become partnership-ready and scalable. With the upcoming Biji-biji Pre-Accelerator and SEAM Cohort 2, interested social enterprises will have opportunities to register for future intakes.
Corporates, ecosystem partners and policymakers are also encouraged to continue exploring how social enterprises can be integrated into procurement, supply chains and long-term collaboration models that deliver both measurable impact and business value.