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Ivan Zakharov, Mohamed Labadi, Natalia Mykhaylova and others are enlisted in the challenge
L'Oréal Innovation Runway 2020
L'Oréal Innovation Runway 2020
Transform the industry with scalable, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly technologies.
#Throwback:LIR2019
The third edition of the L'Oréal Innovation Runway took place at the SLINGSHOT 2019 stage during SFF x SWITCH, the inaugural collaboration between Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) and the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH), where global startups could potentially collaborate with L’Oréal R&I on their respective technologies.
As 68% of the world population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050, with significant contribution coming from Asian cities, the challenge theme was to seek for innovative solutions across different industries and technology verticals to address these potential challenges in the urban future.
The 3 challenge categories were: Diverse and Interconnected (solutions for the unique needs of each individual), Urban Living (solutions to address environmental and lifestyle stressors), and Sustainability (solutions to protect and benefit our environment and community).
With an overwhelming response of submissions from all regions worldwide, 9 startups from all over the world were invited to pitch their technologies at the Semi-Finals in Singapore. Out of the 9 Semi-Finalists, 5 of them made it to the finals: Ecoworth Tech Pte Ltd, FutureFarms Agro Technologies Pte Ltd, Inverse Hair, KBCols Sciences Pvt. Ltd and Maiden Therapeutics. The 5 Finalists were given the opportunity to pitch their technologies to a wide global audience (i.e. startup ecosystem, potential investors, the media) and a distinguished panel of judges from L’Oréal, represented by the Research & Innovation Country Directors for Singapore and India, Digital Partnership Director for APAC, and Garnier’s Direction of Marketing Innovation Brand Director for APAC. To complete the panel, prominent external judges were also invited: Assistant CEO for Innovation & Enterprise of Enterprise Singapore, and an angel investor and Co-founder of IncuVest Pte Ltd.
Ultimately, Ecoworth Tech (Singapore) and FutureFarms Agro (India) emerged as the two winners and were each awarded S$5,000 L'Oréal Cash Prize, a S$50,000 StartupSG grant, mentorship opportunities and the chance for a L’Oréal collaboration. One of the winners, FutureFarms Agro, also won the L'Oréal Sustainability Prize of S$25,000 at our partner startup competition.
Testimonials
“The L’Oréal Innovation Runway was a remarkable experience and gave my start-up great validation and recognition both in Singapore & India. The entire team was so warm and committed to seeing that entrepreneurs like myself are showcased and celebrated. It has also given us the opportunity to work with your wonderful R&D team and I really appreciate the nurturing. This is a great platform for any start-up and I highly recommend it for budding entrepreneurs, as you will unlock a world of opportunities.”
Sriram Gopal, CEO FutureFarms Agro
“Following the excitement of Austrianova’s win at the Innovation Runway start-up challenge in 2017, we have solidified our relationship with L’Oreal by embarking on a multi-pronged project to assess possibilities for using Austrianova’s Bac-in-a-Box® technology for innovative cosmetic products. Since Bac-in-a-Box® capsules have already provided strong evidence towards new functionalities for enabling next generation cosmetics and cosmeceuticals, research and development are continuing and relationships are strengthening further.”
John Dangerfield, COO of Austrianova
