News

Two Bangladeshi small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Deshifarmer and Techno Plastic Solutions, have been selected out of more than 50 applicants to receive up to BDT 10 million each in funding to scale their work and impact.

In our new Insights Series, TRANSFORM shares successes and learnings from our projects to help entrepreneurs gain knowledge through our projects.

In collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP), TRANSFORM, an impact accelerator led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and EY, has developed a toolkit to help WASH enterprises grow their business by understanding and leveraging the relationships that exist within and around their organisations

TRANSFORM collaborated with the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics to study and increase recycling behaviours in the India and Kenya. participation.

TRANSFORM worked with the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics to gain a deeper understanding into the context specific barriers to recycling behaviour – whether it be stigma, effort, awareness or accessibility – and identify opportunities to increase recycling participation.

Five Kenyan start-ups have been selected to receive KES 81 million in funding, out of 1,500 applicants in an open call for innovative solutions to social and environmental issues.

As part of TRANSFORM’s support to Baeru, India’s first ocean plastics recovery startup that is pioneering marine litter recovery initiatives along India’s coastal frontiers, EY Ripples, the Corporate Responsibility arm of EY, provided Baeru with personalised business support.

Based in Mosquera, Colombia, Conceptos Plasticos is a driving force when it comes to building the circular economy.

In our new Insights Series, TRANSFORM shares successes and learnings from our projects to help entrepreneurs gain knowledge through our projects.

As the TRANSFORM programme’s first thematic evaluation on plastics, the purpose of this evaluation is to explore the results that five enterprises have catalysed, how TRANSFORM contributed to these results, and to discuss insights and recommendations for other enterprises, donors, and investors interested in and/or working in this value chain.

TRANSFORM has funded and supported 18 SMEs that focus on building the circular economy, ranging from those pioneering technical innovations to those improving the lives and working conditions of informal waste-workers.

Small and micro merchants represent the beating heart of Latin America’s economy. They provide local communities – often individuals from low-income households – with access to essential goods and services.

Colombia is a country known for its rich culture and vibrant communities, in part driven by its informal economy – 60% of its workforce.

TRANSFORM funds and supports 78 enterprises, of which 18 focus on waste, ranging from those that focus on technical innovations, to enterprises that improve the livelihoods and working conditions of informal waste-collectors.

Sustainable growth, that works for both people and the planet, is among the biggest challenges of our time. No single organisation, individual or government has the power to solve it alone.

TRANSFORM has been working to understand the current realities and future possibilities for Kenyans 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 employs five times more workers than the formal economy.

As 2024 gets underway, the TRANSFORM team is mixing celebration with determination. We have reached a new milestone, with the programme positively impacting more than 15 million lives. These people are the customers, employees and communities who have benefitted from the enterprises TRANSFORM supports.

At TRANSFORM, empowering women, specifically women entrepreneurs, is a fundamental aspect of our work.

Sustainable growth, that works for both people and the planet, is among the biggest challenges of our time. No single organisation, individual or government has the power to solve it alone.

In collaboration with Brink, local Kenyan research partners, and informal economy workers, we discovering more about the informal economy in Kenya and will be making collective recommendations for its future.

TRANSFORM spoke to 100 people at five enterprises in India, Nigeria, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Kenya to understand how impact SMEs can improve lives for low-income women and their families. 

TRANSFORM Climate Challenge is a specialised initiative that aims to identify and support enterprises working on climate resilience, with a special focus on innovations addressing plastic circularity challenges in Bangladesh.

Alongside independent consultant Peter Townsley, TRANSFORM is delighted to launch four new reports describing the tools and techniques to develop local leadership teams.

TRANSFORM and Social Alpha aim to support Indian social enterprises working towards sustainable technologies and solutions along the plastic packaging value chain.

After 18 months of implementation, TRANSFORM shares their top four learnings on how to work with utilities to create water and sanitation businesses

The TRANSFORM India Challenge is an initiative that aims to identify and support impactful enterprises working to improve livelihoods for smallholder farmers  OR plastic circularity and recycling solutions.

TRANSFORM is an impact accelerator led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and EY.We are looking for impact enterprises in Ghana or Nigeria to apply for our West Africa challenge.

TRANSFORM is an impact accelerator led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and EY. We are looking for impact enterprises in South Africa and Zambia.

TRANSFORM is an impact accelerator led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and EY.We are looking for impact enterprises in Ghana or Nigeria to apply for our West Africa challenge.

TRANSFORM is an impact accelerator led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and EY.We are looking for impact enterprises in Ghana or Nigeria to apply for our West Africa challenge.

Mr. Green Africa (MGA) is a Kenya-based enterprise, leveraging business as a force for realising sustainable social, environmental and economic impact through the collection, conversion and selling of post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) waste.

TRANSFORM is joining SAP, Unilever and MovingWorlds at this year’s Social Enterprise World Forum.

Shobar Jonno Pani (SJP) works to ensure permanent access to reliable treated water services in deprived urban neighbourhoods of Bangladesh, by providing piped water directly to homes at an affordable price.

A report detailing Jeeon’s COVID-19 response in Bangladesh through protecting & empowering pharmacies and “village doctors”.

Key learnings and results from D2D Pro, a four year programme in peri-urban Nigeria.

Sara Plast is a Pune-based business that has pioneered portable sanitation solutions in India for over 20 years. But it wasn’t until 2014 that we stumbled on a major issue facing our community: public sanitation facilities simply weren’t accessible, approachable or appealing to women.

Explore tips for creating a successful project board on the Collaboration Hub

Last month, TRANSFORM enterprise Maya received $2.2 million in funding for regional expansion of their Bangladesh-based accessible healthcare platform.

This report maps the current plastic supply chain in a selection of Sub-Saharan African cities in order to identify current capabilities and challenges.

TRANSFORM created the multi-stakeholder TRANSFORM Survive & Thrive initiative to help support the social enterprises that need it most.

This report maps the current plastic supply chain in a selection of Sub-Saharan African cities in order to identify current capabilities and challenges.

This guide outlines five tangible ways you can build or enhance your enterprise to economically empower women through agent models and a use of tech, by drawing on the success of Dharma Life,one of the enterprises in the TRANSFORM network.

TRANSFORM created the multi-stakeholder TRANSFORM Survive & Thrive initiative to help support the social enterprises that need it most.

In 2018, TRANSFORM helped to create ZayoHubs in rural Zambia.

We take a look at U Afya, an online community for young mothers and mothers-to-be in informal settlements in Nairobi.

We look at the lessons of Sunlight Water Centres, who create sustainable water access for communities in Nigeria.

We are delighted to announce the launch of the TRANSFORM Survive & Thrive platform

A look at ICHP, which provides a multi-pronged approach to help combat insect-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue.

In this piece, we look at the lessons learned during the research project conducted by Inclusive Business Sweden and Aqua for All, funded by TRANSFORM.

HappyTap, a social business that produces and distributes a portable sink for low-income communities, takes the spotlight in the latest article in our Portfolio Learnings series.

Frontier Markets is a last-mile distribution company whose mission is to meet the needs of families and communities in rural areas.

Improving family health is at the core of UJoin, a mobile-friendly online community developed by Every1Mobile and supported by TRANSFORM.

ENVenture is an incubator that trains rural Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) to become last-mile distributors for clean energy.

The Base of the Pyramid Innovation Center (BoPInc) has released a report on the success of D2D Pro, a plug-in model that provides training to female door-to-door (D2D) sales agents.

d.light is a solar energy company that brings to market a new level of energy access and quality of life for customers and small businesses through developing Pay As You Go (PAYG) Solar Home Systems (SHS) that can power energy-efficient appliances.

Ubuntu Power provides affordable zero-waste solar power and unrestricted internet, powering and connecting hundreds of people in off-grid communities in Kenya.

HappyTap draws on the evidence about handwashing behaviour change and seeks to find a practical solution. It extended its operations to Bangladesh in 2018.

SWEEP has been enabling access to affordable and sustainable faecal sludge emptying services in urban Bangladesh since 2015.

Spring Health is an organisation that delivers affordable, safe drinking water to rural households in eastern India.

Over half of the world’s population, are living without access to safe sanitation services. This World Toilet Day, TRANSFORM is supporting the local utilities who are the key to solving the global sanitation crisis, as they possess the necessary mandates, relationships, organisational capabilities and infrastructure to ensure access to equitable sanitation services.

The health and wellbeing of mums and their families is at the core of the work of MumsVillage, a social commerce marketplace for Kenyan mothers. This Portfolio Learnings piece looks at the progress and learnings of this ‘virtual village’.

To encourage better hand hygiene practices and help children routinely wash their hands with soap and water, HappyTap, a TRANSFORM impact enterprise that produces and distributes a portable sink for low-income communities, has increased the distribution of their handwashing stations

This asset addresses the challenge of reaching underserved communities in the last mile, outlining ‘6 golden rules’ for setting up sales networks.

Across the world 1 in 3 people do not have access to safe water. For many, particularly in lower-income communities, clean drinking water is seen as a luxury.

COVID-19 has been challenging for many impact enterprises. For Maya, a digital business providing mobile-based health services in Bangladesh, this was certainly the case. This article looks at how Maya reacted and adapted to the fast-evolving situation, enabling them to successfully respond to the crisis and their business need.

D2D Pro is a last-mile distribution project for impact durables, run by BoPInc.,

Theories of change are growing in popularity as a core tool for any business looking to create a positive impact, but what does a theory of change actually mean or do?

This Portfolio Learning looks at Saraplast, a portable sanitation company that provides and maintains portable toilets across India.

This Portfolio Learning looks at Sanivation, an end-to-end sanitation service provider that delivers clean, safe and efficient sanitation hygiene products and services to communities in East Africa.

In this Portfolio Learnings article, we see that, since its inception, Myanmar Stoves Campaign has helped more than 26,000 households purchase fuel-efficient cookstoves.

Focused on women’s empowerment for health and self-care, Kasha is a mobile e-commerce platform that, with the support of TRANSFORM, has been selling and delivering women’s health and hygiene products in East Africa.

TRANSFORM teamed up with Sanergy, a franchise network of Fresh Life Toilets that provides safe and affordable access to clean toilets in urban Kenya.