Unilever-Led Partnership Generates £21.2 Million for East African Enterprises
London, Wednesday, 21 January 2026.
Celebrating a decade of operations, the TRANSFORM accelerator has enabled 42 East African startups to secure £21.2 million in follow-on funding, impacting over 1.9 million lives.
A Decade of Strategic Collaboration
The milestone, observed today, January 21, 2026, highlights the scale of the TRANSFORM initiative, which is jointly led by Unilever, the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and EY [1]. Since its inception in 2015, the accelerator has focused on market-based solutions to global development challenges, with a specific emphasis on East Africa [1]. The £21.2 million (KES 3.6 billion) in capital raised by these enterprises over the last decade serves as a critical indicator of the program’s ability to validate business models that can subsequently attract significant external investment [1].
Operational Metrics and Environmental Impact
Beyond financial figures, the accelerator has reported substantial operational growth among its cohort. Since 2022 alone, supported enterprises have generated nearly 3,400 direct jobs and extended benefits to over 85,800 customers [1]. The initiative has also placed a heavy emphasis on circular economy models; in the same four-year period, participating startups have successfully diverted 8,615 tonnes of waste from landfills [1]. Among the notable beneficiaries is Eco Brixs in Uganda, a venture projected to recycle over 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually while creating 3,500 additional green jobs [2].
Global Reach and Knowledge Exchange
While the spotlight today is on East Africa, the program’s footprint extends globally. TRANSFORM has supported over 140 impact enterprises worldwide, expanding its reach to over 19 million lives—a figure that has grown significantly from the 10 million reported in 2023 [1][2]. This expansion is supported by a mechanism of skills transfer, where 750 employees from EY and Unilever have provided direct business mentorship to the entrepreneurs [2]. Hadijah Nannyomo, a Partner at EY Kenya, noted that this “win-win model” leverages corporate networks to scale innovation, creating ripple effects across the wider economic ecosystem [1].