More than 40 million Brazilians live in housing that suffers from residual damp, mold, and poor ventilation, all factors that contribute to serious public health problems. Jardim Pantanal is a poor community, in the East Zone of São Paulo built on wetland at the edge of the city. High humidity and frequent flooding mean many residents live in housing that is permanently damp and in constant need of repair.Founded in 2014 Moradigna provides building and renovation services to low-income households in Jardim Pantanal, helping residents improve their living environment and their health.
Matheus Cardoso, founder of Moradigna is a resident of Jardim Pantanal. “When families realize they can transform the whole house they feel empowered, knowing that they can live in a better environment. Its is not a privilege, it’s a human right. A house is the most important part of many peoples lives, to Moradigna, making people feel comfortable and healthy inside their own home is very gratifying.”

Currently, Moradigna employees +22 workers from the local area and has transformed more than 100 houses, impacting more than 500 lives. Moradigna has proven that there is a huge unmet demand of this kind of service in low-income communities in Brazil.

What is it like to work as a venture builder at Yunus Social Business? We spoke to Lorelei Logel-Demoulin about her work on a project in collaboration with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and the Ingka Group. She discussed her experiences and challenges building an ambitious social innovation project during a global pandemic.

As an entrepreneur, when your company gets to a certain stage the question of whether join an accelerator often arises.

Since the COVID-19 crisis began in January this year, we at Yunus Social Business have been acutely aware of the potential threat it poses to the populations we support. While governments in wealthy European countries have been subsidising employee salaries, this has not been the case for the emerging countries in which our portfolio Social Businesses operate.