Unilever expands digital start up ‘Foundry’ to Asia and Australasia

Robin Langford

7 years ago

Unilever has revealed 30 of the most ambitious startups 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 startups selected demonstrate a unique and exciting point of difference, poised to affect technological, consumer and social change within SEAA.

South East 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 startups. 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 will receive exposure to Unilever and other industry players in the marketing, retail and e-commerce sectors. During the event, these 30 startups will also be based at Unilever’s co-working space, LEVEL3.

“The Unilever Foundry 30 embodies Unilever’s commitment to South East Asia and Australasia and to working with startup 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 South East 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 startups and innovators seeking to engage, collaborate and explore business opportunities with Unilever’s 400+ 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, startups 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 honor for Viddsee to be part of the first Foundry 30 SEAA, and leverage this opportunity to chart our growth further.”

The selected startups will also gain access to LEVEL3. Launched as a partnership between the Unilever Foundry and Padang & Co, LEVEL3 brings together Unilever brands and startups, 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 Personalization; and Sustainability and Social impact).

The live unveiling of the first Unilever Foundry 30 SEAA will take place at Millennial 20/20, at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore at 5pm on 25 October 2017. The startups 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.