TRANSFORM, an impact accelerator supporting enterprises across Asia and Africa, is marking more than a decade of operation, celebrating ten years of collaboration since its launch in 2015.
In Bangladesh, TRANSFORM has supported 13 enterprises to date, reaching 247,313 people, including business owners, workers, customers, and members of the wider community. With TRANSFORM’s support, these enterprises have generated measurable social, economic, and environmental impact.
Since 2022 alone, more than 39,000 customers have benefited from enterprise products and services supported by the programme. Over the past decade, participating enterprises in Bangladesh have raised more than Tk 1.56 billion (£9.6 million) in follow-on funding, enabling them to scale their operations and impact.
Shamima Akhter, Director of Corporate Affairs, Partnerships, and Communications at Unilever Bangladesh, said local entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are delivering practical solutions to global development challenges.
‘From creating functional waste management initiatives to generating jobs and livelihoods, these innovators are embedded within the communities they serve and are uniquely positioned to develop context-driven solutions,’ she said, adding that several of these innovations have been integrated into Unilever’s supply chain, contributing to sustainability goals related to plastics and livelihoods.
Spotlight on enterprise projects
In Bangladesh, TRANSFORM has collaborated with multiple enterprises on targeted initiatives. These include work with HappyTap to address barriers to hand hygiene by improving access to portable sinks for low-income households. Through local manufacturing partnerships and targeted behaviour-change interventions, the initiative enabled more than 600,000 people to practise handwashing at home and in healthcare facilities.
The programme has also partnered with Deshifarmer to promote climate-smart agriculture by equipping smallholder farmers with environmentally friendly farming practices and improved market access. In its first year, the initiative benefited around 3,000 farmers and 20,000 consumers.
A long-standing public-private partnership
Led by Unilever, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and EY, TRANSFORM represents a long-standing public-private partnership that combines grant funding with technical expertise, networks, and resources to help impact enterprises grow into sustainable businesses.
Globally, over the past decade, the programme has supported more than 140 impact enterprises, reaching over 19 million people worldwide, nearly doubling its reach from 10 million in 2023. More than 750 employees from Unilever and EY have contributed business expertise to support enterprise growth, while seven regionally led challenges have been organised since 2023 to identify new enterprises across Africa and Asia, including Bangladesh.
Pragyal Singh, Partner for Government and Public Sector at EY, said the programme’s model demonstrates the impact of combining complementary strengths across sectors.
‘By leveraging the skills, knowledge, and networks of EY and Unilever, TRANSFORM provides tailored business support that enables enterprises to validate ideas, scale operations, and generate ecosystem-wide impact,’ he said, noting that enterprises in Bangladesh have collectively raised more than Tk 1.56 billion in follow-on funding with the programme’s support.
TRANSFORM continues to position itself as a platform for long-term collaboration, supporting enterprises that address development challenges while delivering sustainable economic and social outcomes.