Singapore – Consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G) has launched iLab 2021, alongside with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EBD), in an effort to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem.
iLab 2021 is a 3-day virtual innovation festival, which will see start-ups from Singapore and across the region come together to collaborate with P&G and develop innovations that can overcome real-world challenges faced in the areas of advertising, retail, and supply chain.
The launch was officiated and witnessed by guest-of-honor Heng Swee Keat, deputy prime minister and coordinating minister of economic policies and minister for finance in Singapore along with Rafik Mansour, Chargé d’Affaires in the U.S. Embassy in Singapore; Ted Tan, deputy CEO of Enterprise Singapore and Cindy Koh, executive vice president at the Singapore Economic Development Board.
The event is held at P&G’s i-Singapore Digital Omni-Channel Center (i-SiDOC).
During iLab, selected start-ups will ideate and brainstorm with P&G to help solve challenges using technology in domains such as AI personalization, gaming, social commerce, and supply chain resiliency. Selected start-ups with promising approaches will then work with P&G to roll out pilots across P&G’s markets in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
Through the support from the EDB, P&G will also mentor start-ups and create cross-exchanges through networking engagements. By partnering with start-ups and technology companies, there is room to experience, learn from each other and grow together.
Magesvaran Suranjan, president for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa at Procter & Gamble believe that Singapore is home to one of the strongest, and most vibrant innovation ecosystems in the region, with a diverse pool of talent constantly striving for new ideas and solutions to solve future challenges.
“In the post-pandemic future, the pursuit for innovation is crucial for the recovery and advancement of our economy. Our vision for P&G in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa region is to become the company of the future and leverage Singapore as the innovation hub for P&G and our industry, leading digital transformation and powering innovation across all aspects of our business,” Suranjan stated.
Meanwhile, Karthik Natarajan, senior vice president and CFO at P&G Asia Pacific, Middle East, & Africa, commented, “We are very thankful to have the support of like-minded partners in this exciting journey, especially the close partnerships that we enjoy with the EDB and ESG.
He added, “At P&G, we always endeavor to lead the change across all aspects of our operations, and support our partners, employees, and other stakeholders. With the opening of iLab, it sets the base pillar for P&G as a company of the future – our visionary framework towards creating a better future for everyone.”
iLab focuses on three different streams – ‘Future of Advertising’, ‘Future of Retail’ and ‘Future of Supply Chain’. These three areas represent the evolving consumer and retail needs, transforming media ecosystems and revolutionary changes in supply chain. These areas are ripe for piloting innovative processes and technologies to improve how consumers live and work.
Prior to the inauguration of iLab, 100 start-ups were assessed to solve real business challenges set by P&G. From this, the top 27 start-ups have been curated and shortlisted to participate in the 3-day festival. iLab 2021 will be held virtually over three days, from 4-6 May 2021, where these start-ups will showcase their solutions and share more about how they envision themselves tackling the given problem.
