Unilever Announces First Unilever Foundry 30 Southeast Asia and Australasia

Unilever has announced 30 of the most ambitious start-ups and scale-ups to be part of the Unilever Foundry 30 South East Asia and Australasia (SEAA). Unveiled at the Millennial 20/20 conference in Singapore, the 30 start-ups selected demonstrate a unique and exciting point of difference, poised to affect technological, consumer and social change within SEAA.

Southeast Asia is the fastest growing internet market in the world. Combined with the rising middle class and more social consumers, the region is an exciting hotspot for Unilever and for start-ups. Tapping into this opportunity, the Unilever Foundry is committed to opening doors for early stage companies to achieve success through its Unilever Foundry 30 SEAA platform.

During Millennial 20/20, the Unilever Foundry 30 SEAA received exposure to Unilever and other industry players in the marketing, retail and ecommerce sectors. During the event, these 30 start-ups were based at Unilever’s co-working space, LEVEL3.

“The Unilever Foundry 30 embodies Unilever’s commitment to Southeast Asia and Australasia and to working with start-up talent who we believe will have significant impact on the region,” said Barbara Guerpillon, Head of Unilever Foundry SEAA and LEVEL3. “With 600 million people in Southeast Asia alone, we look forward to being a catalyst for members of the Unilever Foundry 30 to affect social, business and technological change in both developed and emerging markets. We see enthusiasm from early-stage companies as they gear up to capture opportunities in these markets and we welcome aspiring entrepreneurs to visit LEVEL3, our co-working space at Unilever’s Singapore headquarters, to seize opportunities for collaboration and mentorship.”

The Unilever Foundry is a platform for start-ups and innovators seeking to engage, collaborate and explore business opportunities with Unilever’s 400-plus brands. It is also a way in which Unilever is discovering disruptive technologies and social impact entrepreneurs which will play a key role in achieving Unilever’s mission, which is to make sustainable living commonplace.

UNILEVER FOUNDRY 30 SEAA

As part of the Unilever Foundry 30 SEAA and the global Unilever Foundry community, start-ups will have exclusive benefits including access to new briefs from brands under Unilever’s portfolio; mentorship, collaboration and guidance from Unilever’s partners and executives; invitations to key global events; and effective support.

“As we look into scaling our company to attract commercial opportunities with regional brands, joining the Unilever Foundry community has helped us get access to industry contacts,” said Derek Tan, co-founder of Viddsee. “It is an honour for Viddsee to be part of the first Foundry 30 SEAA, and leverage this opportunity to chart our growth further.”

The selected start-ups also gained access to LEVEL3. Launched as a partnership between the Unilever Foundry and Padang & Co, LEVEL3 brings together Unilever brands and start-ups, tech experts and venture capitalists to create new partnerships that deliver real business impact. LEVEL3 is situated within the Unilever Singapore office, which serves as a global and regional hub for the company. Since its launch in February, 2017, LEVEL3 is now home to more than 45 early-stage companies.

The first Unilever Foundry 30 SEAA is as follows, each chosen in one of five areas identified by Unilever as future areas of innovation (retail; media and advertising; brand and content innovation; data, insights and personalisation; and sustainability and social impact).

The live unveiling of the first Unilever Foundry 30 SEAA took place at Millennial 20/20, at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore on 25 October, 2017. The start-ups were selected after a rigorous assessment by Unilever, Millennial 20/20 and Polanco; and were identified based on their existing and potential contributions to the SEAA region.