Unilever Bangladesh has been supporting the nation in its fight against the coronavirus through various collaborations and partnerships and has contributed more than Tk35 crore to the cause in the past four months.
A Unilever-founded global initiative called TRANSFORM is now supporting five Bangladeshi social businesses by providing nearly Tk2.2 crore to help them pivot to Covid-19 response, says a press release.
TRANSFORM is working quickly to build a platform that will help these enterprises to prosper during and after the pandemic.
The five 'Survive & Thrive' beneficiary enterprises in Bangladesh are Jeeon, Drinkwell, Folia Water, Bhumijo and Maya, each receiving funds of Tk62.6 lakh, Tk51.1 lakh, Tk40.4 lakh, Tk18.1 lakh and Tk50.2 lakh respectively.
It is a unique joint initiative between Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’ or ‘FCDO’ (previously known as DFID) and EY that identifies, funds, and delivers technical expertise to innovative social businesses.
At the outbreak of the pandemic, TRANSFORM set up a special ‘Survive & Thrive’ fund to help enterprises tackle Covid-19 response, change behaviors and improve hygiene practices through their networks and products.
The fund is also aimed at helping these enterprises to continue their services and deal with the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Previously, TRANSFORM donated Tk22 crore (£2 million) to implement the innovative initiatives of eight social businesses in the country – five of these were recipients of the Covid-19 response grant.
Kedar Lele, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of Unilever Bangladesh said: “We have taken many measures to support Bangladesh in its fights against the pandemic and our brands have been working with government and citizens via development organization, NGOs, Civil society organizations. We also recognize the challenges social businesses are going through during this crucial time and Unilever aims to build resilience for the future of social entrepreneurship. Through our global initiative ‘TRANSFORM’ we are extending our support to five social business not only through funding but also through mentorship and guidance.”
TRANSFORM supports new businesses that are creating products and services for the benefit of everyone.
In Bangladesh, these social enterprises are working to help alleviate poverty (SDG 1), promote good health and wellbeing (SDG 3) and provide clean water and sanitation (SDG 6).
The award-winning TRANSFORM collaboration is a prime example of SDG 17 – partnerships for the goals.
