Impact Stories
Scaling refill models requires industry-wide collaboration
Refill models hold great promise, presenting many benefits to communities by reducing waste and often offering goods at lower costs….
For over a decade, TRANSFORM changed lives by tackling global challenges through innovative enterprise
About TRANSFORM
Established in 2015, TRANSFORM was a joint initiative led by Unilever, the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and EY. Together, we set out to help impact entrepreneurs test and scale commercially self-sustaining, market-driven solutions to some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.
We built TRANSFORM on the principles of public-private collaboration and reciprocity, combining resources, expertise and networks to support locally led innovation. Through this approach, we worked alongside impact enterprises to create value for communities, entrepreneurs and partners alike.
Over the course of the initiative, we supported over 160 impact enterprise and research projects across 19 countries in Asia and Africa, reaching more than 21 million people.
The initiative came to an end in 2026 having exceeded its original ambition, but we have captured insights and lessons in our open-access playbook. We hope the TRANSFORM model lives on through others who adapt it, apply it and take its impact further.
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
Future of Work
Raise Living Standards
Protect & Regenerate Nature
Waste-Free World
Digital health
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enterprise & research projects supported
£
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provided in grant funding and business support
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m+
people reached
Project resources
Whether you're a donor, enterprise, business, investor or simply want to learn more, explore our collection of insights, tools, case studies and learning resources.
Impact Stories
We TRANSFORM Lives: Mitigating plastic pollution and improving livelihoods for women in India
With Divya Hegde, Founder of Baeru, and Holly McCann, Senior Consultant at EY TRANSFORM is an impact accelerator led by…
Academic Research Studies
TRANSFORM research: The Future of Work in the Informal Economy
The importance of the informal economy in Kenya cannot be overstated; it accounts for 24% of Kenya’s GDP and also…
Academic Research Studies
Local voices, global impact: Power shifting for localisation
Localisation refers to the shifting of power, leadership and ownership of funding to the countries and communities where the funding…
Enterprise projects
TRANSFORM's impact enterprises are tackling some of the world's most pressing development challenges in an inclusive, sustainable and innovative way.
TeleCTG
TeleCTG is transforming maternal healthcare in rural Indonesia through telemedicine-based technology. The maternal mortality rate in Indonesia is among the…
Lohjinawi
Lohjinawi partners with local waste banks to collect recyclables and provide fair income to waste collectors, turning individual efforts into…
HappyTap
Washing hands with soap is the cheapest and easiest way to prevent diarrhoea and infectious disease. However, less than one…
Social Alpha
Social Alpha is a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for science and technology start-ups that address the most…
Aye Finance
Established in 2014, Aye Finance is registered with the Reserve Bank of India as a systemically important non-banking financial company….
Transforming of Production Palm Sugar (ToPPS) by SNV
Transforming of Production Palm Sugar in Myanmar (ToPPS) SNV tested an innovative business model to improve palm sugar processing through…
Eco Brixs
In Uganda, 600 tonnes of waste is disposed of every day and only 40% of plastic waste is collected for disposal. At…
SWEEP by WSUP
Safe disposal of human waste is a serious health challenge for many in low-income communities. Dhaka is the only city…