Many countries, including Sweden, the US and the UK, are cutting down on their international aid funding. At the same time, over 120 million people are displaced from their homes, nearly twice as many as a decade ago. Businesses, foundations, and philanthropists must step forward as public resources falter.
We build homes and long-term partnerships
Together with the UN and other aid organisations, Better Shelter builds temporary homes for displaced people. Since our inception, we have delivered nearly 100,000 shelters to over 90 countries. This would never have been possible without philanthropic partners like the IKEA Foundation and humanitarian partners like the UN Refugee Agency. But also not without Swedish companies that develop and manufacture components for our shelters, who dared to invest in us even when profitability was not guaranteed.
Many of these companies have gone further than what both spreadsheets and business advisors would recommend. And in many cases, they have received something in return: new business opportunities, strengthened brand reputation, and tangible financial returns. Doing good has proven to be good business.
That does not mean every krona must yield a direct return. In a global emergency like we face now, businesses must continue contributing without expecting profit. Because it is right. Because it is necessary. And because dignity, safety, and hope are not luxuries but human rights.
The needs are urgent, but the solutions must be long-term
Today, only a few hundred SEK are often spent per family on shelter in humanitarian operations. The result is tents and tarps that last only a few months. Meanwhile, UNHCR figures show that people, on average, live more than 20 years in displacement. The crisis always outlasts the funding. We must begin to build for that reality.
Our shelters have been called “temporary,” but in northwestern Syria, they have stood for over five years. Families have insulated them, expanded them, laid floors, and built walls. When the rebuilding of Syria begins, it is in these homes that people will start anew, often next to the ruins of their former homes.
Companies that take responsibility build the future
Design is not about perfect solutions. It is about giving people power over their daily lives. The same applies to businesses. Those who dare to act often see their investments bear fruit, both human and commercial. It builds employee engagement, customer loyalty, and investor credibility.
But most importantly, it saves lives. And right now, public funding is not enough.
The world needs more who dare
We call on businesses to keep investing, politicians to create better conditions for private actors to contribute, and society at large to remember that dignity and safety are the most fundamental things we can offer one another.
We can build better. And we cannot afford not to.
Johan Karlsson, managing director and co-founder, Better Shelter
