TRANSFORM

What TRANSFORM does

TRANSFORM is an impact accelerator operating as a joint initiative between Unilever, the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and EY. Founded in 2015, it identifies and supports early-stage social businesses across Africa and Asia that tackle development challenges — including water and sanitation, healthcare, waste management, and livelihoods — through market-based solutions. Rather than selling a product, TRANSFORM provides grant funding, sector expertise, marketing and supply-chain access (via Unilever), technical and business advisory (via EY), and a network of more than 700 corporate volunteers to help these enterprises scale. Since 2023, locally managed selection panels have made funding decisions at the regional level.

Over a ten-year operating history, TRANSFORM has supported more than 140 enterprise projects across 19 countries, helped those enterprises raise over £50.4 million in follow-on funding, and reached approximately 19 million people through clean water, healthcare, and livelihood initiatives. Its portfolio includes waste-recycling ventures supplying Unilever's value chain (e.g., Hasiru Dala into SunSilk bottles), sanitation franchises (Sanergy / Fresh Life Toilets), and digital distribution networks (Duka+, D2D Pro). TRANSFORM also publishes thought-leadership assets — including the TRANSFORM Playbook on public-private partnership methodology, the Refill Realities Country Profiles, and a WASH Toolkit — and operates an alumni-focused Scale Programme for follow-on capital and advisory support.

The business model is grant-based rather than commercial: TRANSFORM does not charge enterprises for services, and there is no disclosed revenue. The entity functions as a programmatic collaboration housed primarily in London (with presence indicated in Nairobi) rather than as an independent standalone company, and its long-term continuity is therefore tied to the continued strategic commitment of Unilever, FCDO, and EY.

Name

TRANSFORM

Legal name

TRANSFORM

Website

https://www.transform.global

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Acceleration / Development Programme

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Change Management & Transformation Consulting (BPAHAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

STEM, Digital Skills & Innovation Partnerships (EDADALAJ)

Keywords

• Impact accelerator
• Grant funding programmes
• Social enterprise support
• Public-private partnerships
• Development consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding & Development Support: TRANSFORM operates as a joint initiative funded by Unilever, the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and EY. The programme provides grant funding and development support to impact enterprises rather than generating commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

TRANSFORM is an impact accelerator that supports early-stage social businesses and impact enterprises across Africa and Asia with grant funding, sector expertise, marketing support, supply-chain access, and business advisory. Operated as a joint initiative between Unilever, the UK Government's FCDO, and EY, it also runs the TRANSFORM Scale Programme for alumni enterprises and convenes skills-based volunteers from its corporate partners.

Product overview

TRANSFORM is a unique impact accelerator initiative—a joint venture between Unilever, the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and EY—that functions as both a funding program and knowledge-sharing platform. Rather than a unified software product, TRANSFORM offers a portfolio of enterprise support services including grant funding, skills-based volunteering from corporate partners, and locally-managed selection panels for enterprises. The core offering centers on supporting impact enterprises through funding, expertise, and connections to help them scale market-based solutions. Additionally, TRANSFORM provides an Insights & Resources Library containing practical toolkits (such as the WASH Toolkit), research publications (including Refill Realities Country Profiles), and the TRANSFORM Playbook for public-private partnership guidance. The TRANSFORM Scale Programme provides supplementary support to alumni enterprises facing fundraising challenges. The organization also hosts LinkedInLive events for thought leadership dissemination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TRANSFORM Impact Accelerator Programme An impact accelerator programme that unites corporates, donors, investors, and academics to support visionary impact enterprises across Africa and Asia. Provides grant funding, sector expertise, marketing support, supply-chain access, and business advisory to help enterprises scale market-based solutions to global development challenges.
• Enterprise Project Support Grant funding, knowledge sharing, and technical support provided directly to impact enterprises, with funding decisions made locally through managed selection panels (since 2023). Currently supporting 48 enterprise projects.
• Skills-Based Volunteering Programme Volunteer support programme engaging 700+ professionals from Unilever and EY who offer expertise in marketing, distribution, product development, and price modelling to help supported enterprises scale.
• TRANSFORM Scale Programme Additional grant funding and technical support provided to selected TRANSFORM alumni enterprises to help them overcome fundraising challenges in transitioning to commercial funding.

Quantifiable outcome

• 140+ impact enterprises supported across 19 countries in 10 years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UnilevercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnilever is a core founding partner of TRANSFORM, providing sector expertise, marketing support, supply chain access, and financing. As a major corporate partner, Unilever helps impact enterprises integrate into global corporate value chains and supports scaling of market-based solutions.
• EYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEY joined TRANSFORM in 2018 as a core founding partner, providing access to technical expertise, networks, innovation, business advisory, and entrepreneurship scaling support through EY Ripples programme. Over 700 EY volunteers have supported enterprises.
• BoP Innovation Center (BoPInc)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoPInc collaborated with TRANSFORM on D2D Pro, a plug-in module providing training to female door-to-door sales agents. The partnership developed scalable models to empower rural sales agents to sell high-impact products.
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLSHTM conducted research on how online networks can initiate social norms change about family planning in offline communities during COVID-19, commissioned by TRANSFORM.
• SanergyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTRANSFORM teamed up with Sanergy, a franchise network of Fresh Life Toilets providing safe and affordable access to clean toilets in urban Kenya. Supported innovative promotional strategy (Fee-For-Service model) in Mathare settlement.
• Taka Taka SolutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKenyan waste recycling enterprise processing single-use plastic containers and flexible packaging. TRANSFORM supports expansion of integrated recycling solution to new plastic material types and buyback centres.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Acumen: Acumen is a global impact investor and accelerator that provides patient capital and advisory support to early-stage enterprises addressing poverty in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. It is directly comparable as a development-focused accelerator backing market-based solutions in the same geographies TRANSFORM serves.
• Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE): ANDE is a global network of organizations that support small and growing businesses in developing countries with funding, research, and capacity building. It overlaps with TRANSFORM in supporting the enterprise acceleration ecosystem across emerging markets.
• Shell Foundation: Shell Foundation is a corporate-backed impact accelerator established by Shell to scale enterprise solutions in energy access, sanitation, and livelihoods across emerging markets. It mirrors TRANSFORM's model of using corporate sector expertise and capital to scale impact enterprises.
• IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative: IDH convenes public-private partnerships to scale inclusive and sustainable value chains in commodities and consumer goods. It mirrors TRANSFORM's PPP structure, particularly its focus on integrating impact enterprises into corporate value chains.
• GSMA Innovation Fund: GSMA Innovation Fund provides grants and venture capital to support mobile-based innovations addressing development challenges in Africa and Asia. It overlaps with TRANSFORM's digital health, last-mile commerce, and financial inclusion focus areas.

Broad incumbents

• FMO (Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank): FMO is the Dutch development finance institution that provides capital to private enterprises in developing markets. It complements TRANSFORM's grant-based model with debt and equity financing, targeting the same geographies and sectors.
• Omidyar Network: Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm that supports impact-driven companies and policy reforms globally. It operates at broader scale than TRANSFORM across multiple impact verticals with both grant and investment capital.
• Dalberg Advisors: Dalberg is a global consulting firm focused on development, humanitarian, and social impact advisory across emerging markets. It provides strategy consulting similar to the advisory role TRANSFORM plays for its portfolio enterprises.
• Mastercard Foundation: Mastercard Foundation runs large-scale youth employment and inclusion programmes across Africa, including enterprise support initiatives. It operates at much larger scale than TRANSFORM but shares the PPP-driven development approach.

Emerging players

• Bopinc (BoP Innovation Center): Bopinc is a Netherlands-based innovation center focused on inclusive business and Base of the Pyramid markets in Africa and Asia. It is explicitly named as a TRANSFORM collaborator, working on similar last-mile distribution and female sales agent models.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/transform-unilever-fcdouk-ey
• Xx.com/TRANSFORM_SDGs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments16 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TRANSFORM