Two Singapore-based start-ups, Next Billion and Playbasis, have made it into Unilever’s Foundry 50.
The Foundry is a global platform to connect innovative startups with Unilever's portfolio of leading brands.
The finalists will now join Unilever Foundry at Lions Innovation in Cannes from June 21-23, gaining access to the creative community and the opportunity to network, showcase their technology and pitch their solutions to brand and agency leaders from around the world.
Of the two Singapore-based finalists, Next Billion, enables companies to engage hard-to-reach consumers in emerging markets. One of its platforms, Mobile Movies, organises free film screenings for communities in rural areas.
Playbasis, meanwhile, provides a cloud-based technology platform which makes it easy for businesses to launch modern applications millennial audiences. The firm generates revenue through a B2B, software-as-a-service subscription business model where customers only pay for the services that they use.
Each startup was chosen against one of five categories identified by Unilever as future areas of innovation: Future of Retail, Brand & Content Innovation, Data, Insights & Personalisation, Social Impact and Engaging Millennials.
Technology developed by the startups will be available to demo at the Foundry 50 Innovation Hub at Lions Innovation. The interactive zone will give delegates the opportunity to experience the startup technology in the same context as consumers would.
Throughout the two days of Lions Innovation, Unilever Foundry will be hosting pitch sessions based around each of the five areas of innovation. The sessions will take the form of a reverse pitch, with a Unilever brand representative introducing each innovation category and the rationale for choosing the relevant startups, before the Foundry 50 are invited to showcase their technology to delegates.
