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SINGAPORE, Feb. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Unilever Foundry and Padang & Co today launch LEVEL3, a co-working space that pushes the boundaries of collaboration and corporate innovation. Redefining the traditional concept of workspaces, LEVEL3 brings together Unilever, startups, and entrepreneurs to encourage innovation and create new partnerships that deliver real and meaningful business impact.
"LEVEL3 stems from our mission to make sustainable living commonplace. It offers our business a direct connection with disruptive technologies and changemakers to shape the way we work -- ultimately impacting people's lives," said Pier Luigi Sigismondi, President, South East Asia and Australasia. "LEVEL3 is the springboard for startups to scale and build successful businesses."
Built within the Unilever regional headquarters in Singapore, the 22,000 sq ft workspace provides proximity to Unilever brands and functions, and access to existing Unilever Foundry programmes. To date, 15 international and local startups have already established themselves at LEVEL3, including Adludio, ConnectedLife, Datacraft, EcoHub, GetCRAFT, Next Billion, Olapic, Snapcart, TaskSpotting and Try and Review.
"The set-up of LEVEL3 in Singapore -- a global first for Unilever -- is a strong testament to the growing vibrancy of Singapore's startup ecosystem," said Dr Beh Swan Gin, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board. "LEVEL3 represents an emerging corporate innovation model that is aligned with EDB's efforts to encourage collaborations between multinational companies and other enterprises such as startups."
A new model of collaboration
LEVEL3 is more than a co-working space; It is a collaborative innovation community. Startups have the opportunity to interact and partner with Unilever and other ecosystem partners to solve business challenges ranging from marketing to finance, logistics, supply chain and customer development.
For Unilever, LEVEL3 offers a unique point of contact to innovators and the rest of the startup community, to generate real-life problem statements, ultimately catalysing demand-led innovation.
"Born through Unilever Foundry's own mission to collaborate, experiment, and pioneer for a sustainable future, LEVEL3 is a physical manifestation of this ethos," shared Jonathan Hammond, Head of Unilever Foundry.
At LEVEL3, there will be learning and networking opportunities, such as fireside chats, sharing sessions, mentoring programmes and access to training and resources offered by technology partners.
"We envision LEVEL3 as a vibrant workspace offering global opportunities for entrepreneurs. We are passionate about connecting members of the startup ecosystem to spark collaboration and ignite innovation," commented Derrick Chiang, CEO, Padang & Co.
LEVEL3 focuses on the following areas: Marketing Tech & Ad Tech, Enterprise Tech, Products & Ingredients, New Business Model Innovation and Social Impact.
For more information on LEVEL3, please refer to: L3.work
For launch event images, please refer to: https://edelmanftp.boxcn.net/s/dsozpbvnm8t9rggm8jyh4si0al4gv4yk
ABOUT LEVEL3
LEVEL3 is a workspace, created by Unilever Foundry and Padang & Co, which brings together Unilever, startups and entrepreneurs to encourage innovation and create new partnerships that deliver real business impact. Launched on 14 February 2017, LEVEL3 is housed within Unilever regional headquarters in Asia -- Singapore. Startups will have access to the existing Unilever Foundry programmes, and an opportunity to solve specific business problems faced by Unilever's teams. LEVEL3 offers a network of entrepreneurs who will share their industry expertise through fireside chats, events and mentoring.
ABOUT UNILEVER FOUNDRY
Unilever Foundry provides a single entry-point for innovative startups seeking to partner with Unilever, enabling the company's global brands to experiment with and pilot new technologies more efficiently, effectively and speedily. It provides startups and entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop and work on global projects, access mentoring from marketing professionals, and tap into funding through Unilever Ventures. Startups are invited to apply to be part of Unilever Foundry by visiting http://foundry.unilever.com/projects/. More details on Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan can be found here: http://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living-2014/.
Unilever Foundry (Unilever.com/foundry) works closely with Unilever Ventures, the Venture capital arm of Unilever. Unilever Ventures invests in early stage companies that could become strategically relevant to Unilever and can benefit from access to Unilever's assets and capabilities. One of the key areas of investment for Unilever Ventures is Digital Marketing, encompassing marketing services business with a focus on mobile marketing, digital media and video, social media, content creation, eCommerce, shopper marketing and big data. Unilever Ventures' portfolio can be viewed here.
ABOUT PADANG & CO
Padang & Co is an innovation catalyst for corporates and government agencies, helping startups and corporates such as Unilever connect and create new opportunities for innovation.
Padang & Co is the architect of LEVEL3 and will be designing the programmes and managing the space. We believe LEVEL3 is a unique opportunity to ignite innovation and ultimately generate business activity for all.
APPENDIX A
Adludio:
"Adludio works with Unilever extensively in Europe, using our proprietary sensory advertising technology. Our presence here today marks a new chapter in our partnership. We believe LEVEL3 is the perfect workspace for Adludio as we look into scaling and building our sensory advertising business across Southeast Asia." - Paul Coggins, CEO at Adludio
EcoHub:
"Unilever's values and aspirations for inclusive growth and creating a sustainable future resonate with us. We believe what we do can positively impact Unilever's supply chains and ecosystems, thus reaching a broader audience. We see LEVEL3 as more than just a workplace. It is a platform for us to build and strengthen our relationships with like-minded individuals." - KK Han, Partner, EcoHub
GetCRAFT:
"I think it's a happy convenience that as we rapidly scale across Southeast Asia, we're also given the opportunity to work with Unilever in markets such as Indonesia and Philippines. As such, having a presence at LEVEL3 became the next logical step for us as it allows us to closely innovate together with its proximity to their regional headquarters, thus further strengthening our partnership." - Patrick Searle, Co-Founder & Group CEO, GetCRAFT
Next Billion:
"LEVEL3 offers us a unique opportunity to be part of a dynamic ecosystem and explore potential collaborations with Unilever and complementary partners. We're looking forward to collaborating with global brands and startups that share our commitment to creating sustainable commercial and social impact across the region." - Oliver Gilbert, Managing Director, Next Billion
Olapic:
"Olapic is very excited to be part of LEVEL3 in Singapore and believe our participation gives us a platform to further establish and grow our business in Asia. As a participating company in the Unilever Foundry and the subsequent investment of Unilever Ventures in Olapic, we have become a global company working with some of the top brands in Asia, helping them to enhance consumer engagement through user-generated content." - Jose de Cabo, Co-founder, Olapic
Snapcart:
"LEVEL3 provides the right ecosystem for startups like Snapcart where we're not just able to connect with other entrepreneurs but also big corporates like Unilever. We're very pleased to be among the first companies to establish our Singapore office at LEVEL3. We look forward to working with Unilever Foundry and Padang & Co as we expand across the region." - Reynazran Royono, Founder and CEO, Snapcart
TaskSpotting:
"As a Unilever Foundry member, it was the logical decision for us to set up our hub as close as possible to Unilever's headquarters. A significant part of our next phase of growth is really focused on the region and we hope that our base at LEVEL3 becomes the springboard to Asia Pacific as a whole. We're really excited to see the community develop around LEVEL3. It's looking like it will be the hotspot for entrepreneurs and that will make for great opportunities to collaborate with one another." - Karim Aly, CEO, TaskSpotting
Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20170214/8521700839LOGO
