Unilever, the UK Government & EY celebrate 10+ years of collaboration, reaching 240,000+ lives in Bangladesh
HappyTap
Deshifarmer
With TRANSFORM’s support, these enterprises have generated tangible benefits for local communities and the environment, for example, since 2022:
• Over 39,000 customers benefitted from enterprise products and services
• Additionally, over the past decade, the enterprises raised over BDT 1.56 billion* (£9.6 million) in follow-on funding
Shamima Akhter, Director of Corporate Affairs, Partnerships and Communications at Unilever Bangladesh, shares: “In Bangladesh, local entrepreneurs are delivering some of the most powerful solutions to global development challenges, from creating functional waste management initiatives to providing jobs and livelihoods. Embedded within the communities they serve, these innovators are uniquely positioned to create practical, context-driven approaches. Some of their solutions have also been embedded into Unilever’s own supply chain, contributing to our sustainability goals on plastics and livelihoods through innovation, collaboration and lasting behaviour change.”
Spotlight on enterprise projects
TRANSFORM has achieved significant results with enterprises on individual projects in Bangladesh. This includes collaborating with:
• HappyTap to remove key barriers to hand hygiene by making portable sinks more accessible to low-income households. Through local manufacturing partnerships and targeted marketing, the project has also encouraged lasting behaviour change, enabling more than 600,000 people to wash their hands at home and in local healthcare facilities.
• Deshifarmer to advance climate-smart farming by equipping smallholder farmers with the tools and knowledge for more environmentally friendly practices as well as enhancing their market access, benefitting 3,000 farmers and 20,000 consumers in its first year.
Uniting industry leaders and government to transform lives
Led by Unilever, the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and EY, the initiative is a unique example of a long lasting public-private partnership - combining grant funding with the different skills, networks and resources of each organisation to help impact enterprises scale into thriving, self-sustaining businesses tackling global development challenges. The programme has been running for the past decade and has:
• Supported over 140 impact enterprises worldwide, reaching over 19 million lives – growing from 10 million in 2023, almost doubling its impact in just two years.
• Seen 750 employees from EY and Unilever sharing their business knowledge to help enterprises unlock their potential.
• Hosted seven regionally led challenges, since 2023, to find new enterprises. This put decision-making power into the hands of local colleagues from Unilever, EY and the British High Commission across East, West and Southern Africa, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Pragyal Singh, Partner, Government and Public Sector, EY, shares: “With a strong 10-year track record, TRANSFORM’s win-win model is an example of the incredible impact we can achieve by combining our strengths. Leveraging our EY people’s skills, knowledge and networks, TRANSFORM provides tailored business support to scale inspiring entrepreneurs, fostering innovation that has ripple effects across the ecosystem. TRANSFORM’s combined support has helped validate these innovative ideas, enabling our enterprises across Bangladesh to raise over BDT 1.56bn* in follow-on funding and further scale their impactful solutions. We are proud to help create a better future for everyone, together.”
*This is accurate based on conversion rates on Wednesday, 17 December 2025.
About TRANSFORM
Established in 2015 and led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and EY, TRANSFORM is an impact accelerator that unites corporates, donors, investors and academics to support visionary enterprises. Together, we test and scale new market-based solutions that build inclusive, sustainable economies, empower marginalised communities, and drive climate-resilient growth.
We combine grant funding, business insight, practical experience, resources and networks. Our tailored approach generates evidence that we share widely to help leaders worldwide address global challenges.
TRANSFORM is based on a desire to address urgent issues by learning from each other.
We TRANSFORM lives by tackling global challenges through life-changing enterprise.
Globally, TRANSFORM has supported 140+ enterprise projects across 19 countries and has reached over 19 million lives. For more information on TRANSFORM, visit: www.transform.global
Will Kirk
Forster Communications
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