Peter Fisk

The Vegetarian Butcher is a pioneering Dutch company that develops, produces, and markets meat alternatives. Founded by Jaap Korteweg, a ninth-generation farmer, it aims to revolutionize the meat industry by offering plant-based alternatives that replicate the taste and texture of meat.

In 1998, Jaap Korteweg realized the need for change after an outbreak of swine fever and mad cow disease in the Netherlands. He rejected the idea of storing animal carcasses in his cold stores and decided to create a meat revolution.

The Vegetarian Butcher was launched in 2010. Notable milestones include winning PETA’s ‘Most animal-friendly company of the year’ award in 2012 and launching their first vegetarian burger, the mc², in Paris in 2013.

The Vegetarian Butcher aims to provide high-quality meat alternatives that satisfy meat lovers without compromising on taste or texture.

Their philosophy is “no meat substitutes, only meat successors.” They believe in a food uprising, advocating for plant-based nutrition and lifestyle benefits.

The company has developed a range of products that deliver the same taste, texture, and nutrition as animal meat.

In 2018, The Vegetarian Butcher was acquired by Unilever recognizing its potential in the growing trend toward plant-based diets. They continue to innovate and expand their product offerings.

“The strength of The Vegetarian Butcher lies in unleashing a worldwide food revolution that makes the switch to plant-based food as easy and tasty as possible. That has been our starting point since 2010. Talking about impact: the biggest impact we are driving, is removing animals from the chain. However, our commitment goes way beyond that, from sourcing to packaging. We want to have a positive effect on the industry in many ways and make that tangible.

Our Impact Report captures the essence of what we do and how we do it. It is our ode to all The Vegetarian Butchers and our growing community of rebels, pioneers and lovers of the new meat, who make this revolution happen every day. Welcome to the biggest food revolution of all time!”

DNV was founded as a membership organisation in Oslo, Norway in 1864. Norway’s mutual marine insurance clubs banded together to establish a uniform set of rules and procedures, used in assessing the risk of underwriting individual vessels. The group aimed to provide “reliable and uniform classification and taxation of Norwegian ships”.

At the time, the Norwegian shipping industry was experiencing rapid growth and breaking out of its traditional local boundaries. An emerging, nationwide market for marine insurance was needed. Three years later in Germany, a group of 600 ship owners, shipbuilders and insurers gathered in the great hall of the Hamburg Stock Exchange. It was the founding convention of Germanischer Lloyd (GL), a new non-profit association based in Hamburg. In 2013, DNV and GL merged to form DNV GL, which was simplified to DNV in 2021.

Society became an increasingly demanding stakeholder in the predominantly private, liberal maritime industry. Load lines developed by Samuel Plimsoll became compulsory on every British ship from 1891, saving the lives of seamen along the British coasts. Load lines became mandatory in Norway in 1907.

The Titanic disaster in 1912 brought safety at sea to the forefront of public concern. International classification societies played an important part in discussions on ship safety. Nevertheless, GL’s managing director Carl Pagel and Johannes Bruun from DNV were the only official classification industry delegates at the adoption of the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).

After WWI, the transition from sailing ships to steamers brought a fundamental change in technology and skills needed for the classification industry. The outdated classification rules for construction of ships were no longer in harmony with the shipbuilding methods of the time. Between 1920 and 1940 DNV was technically independent, and established a new culture prioritizing engineering, construction and design.

New vision

When Georg Vedeler was appointed DNV’s managing director in 1951, he introduced a more scientific approach to ship construction. His vision was to build safer ships in a more efficient way, using scientific competencies and skills. New rules based on an analytical and theoretical scientific approach were introduced, and a significant step was taken towards establishing a dedicated research department. This provided opportunities for DNV in the more demanding segments of shipbuilding, which initially involved the new super tankers and later extended to gas and chemical tankers. The fleet was still predominantly Norwegian, but internationalization was taking off.

GL also took a scientific approach in developing the organization after WWII. This led to the introduction of high-powered computer analysis, enabling the design and construction of larger and more modern ships. GL’s research investments resulted in new construction rules for container ships, and the company soon dominated this segment within international shipping.

North Sea oil boom

DNV was well prepared in terms of competence and impact when commercial oil was discovered in the North Sea. The firm came to play an important role in this new industry within Norway as an advisor for both authorities and oil companies. DNV used its experience and technological competence within the maritime industry to develop and introduce oil and gas verification, inspection and risk management services.

The world’s first pipeline rules were published by DNV in 1976, setting a global standard. From the early 1970’s, DNV was offered most of the building supervision and inspection assignments on the Norwegian continental shelf. Offshore floating rigs and supply vessels also became a strong new segment for DNV in traditional ship classification.

Emerging industries

In 1977, wind energy was introduced as a new business segment. This, and other climate-friendly service areas represented new opportunities for organizational growth from a strong, research-driven technology base. New rules were developed, and certification of land-based and offshore turbines became an important growth area for DNV.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s the new industry of management system certification based on ISO-standards emerged, and both DNV and GL took global positions in the expanding Testing Inspection and Certification (TIC) industry.

Age of alliances

Alliances, mergers, and acquisitions became a strong strategic driver in the late 2000s. The acquisitions of Advantica (UK) in 2008 and Trident (Malaysia) in 2009 broadened GL’s service scope to consultancy services in the oil and gas sectors. The merger with Noble Denton in 2009 further expanded its activities in offshore technical services. This was supported by the acquisitions of PVI (Canada) in 2007, MCS (US) in 2008 and IRS (Singapore) in 2009, which advanced the inspection business.

In 2009, GL acquired the world’s largest wind energy consultancy, UK based Garrad Hassan. GL had already acquired the Canadian wind energy consulting and engineering company Hélimax and the German company WINDTEST, experts on measurements for wind turbines and wind farms. This, coupled with the offshore wind expertise of Noble Denton, meant that GL was able to deliver a full service approach with a comprehensive service portfolio towards the wind energy sector.

In 2005, DNV acquired CCT (US), a specialist in corrosion control and pipeline and plant integrity analysis. It followed up with the acquisitions of US-based Global Energy Concepts in 2008 and Behnke, Erdman and Whitaker (BEW) in 2010. To support prevailing strategies within the new climate-friendly service fields, DNV established its Sustainability Centre in Beijing in 2009 and a Clean Technology Centre in Singapore in 2010.

In 2012, DNV and KEMA joined forces to create a world-leading consulting, testing and certification company for the global energy sector. KEMA was established by the Dutch electrical power industry in 1927, and had subsequently developed into a high profile international brand that provided services to the global energy sector. These included renewable energy, carbon reduction and energy efficiency, power generation, transmission and distribution. The company operated a number of state-of-the-art laboratories, including high-power and high voltage labs, one of which was extended in 2017 to become the world’s first facility capable of testing ultra-high voltage electrical grid components.

On September 12, 2013 DNV and GL merged. GL was owned by the private equity firm Mayfair, who became a minority owner (36.5%) of the merged company, while the remaining 63.5% was owned by the Foundation Det Norske Veritas, an independent, self-owned foundation. In 2017, the Foundation Det Norske Veritas became the 100% owner of the merged company, which in 2021 changed it name from DNV GL to DNV.

Today DNV is a globally leading quality assurance and risk management company operating in more than 100 countries. With over 100,000 customers across the maritime, energy, food and healthcare industries, as well as a range of other sectors, DNV empowers its customers and their stakeholders with facts and reliable insights so that they can make critical decisions with confidence.

Climeworks empowers people and companies to fight global warming by offering carbon dioxide removal as a service via direct air capture (DAC) technology.

At Climeworks’ new “Mammoth” DAC facility in Iceland, the CO₂ is permanently removed from the air by capturing and geologically storing it for thousands of years with Climeworks’ storage partner Carbfix. Climeworks’ DAC facilities run exclusively on clean energy, and our modular CO₂ collectors can be stacked to build machines of any capacity.

In October 2024 I got to visit the newly opened site, around 30km from Reykjavik. The ambition is certainly impressive. Approaching, I see the steam of the nearby On geothermal power plant, the main reason why Climeworks has come to Iceland, and then the huge V-shaped suction pipes of Mammoth.

Mammoth is the world’s largest carbon capture and storage plant, with over 200 engineers working there. It has a lifetime of around 25 years, and will be at full capacity by 2025 with 72 collector containers, and with a capture capacity of 36000 tonnes.

Surrounding the Climeworks site are small white domes, where the captured carbon is pumped 700m underground, and mineralised into rock. They are operated by Climeworks’ local partner Carbfix, an Icelandic company that dissolves the carbon in water, then injects it into the basalt rock below.

Climeworks business model is to seek funding from business and individuals, who then fund the process. It has already sold a third of Mammoth’s lifetime capacity (to companies including Microsoft, JP Morgan, Stripe, BCG and PwC, plus individuals like Bill Gates, and the band Coldplay).

Climeworks was founded in 2009 by the mechanical engineers Jan Wurzbacher and Christoph Gebald. During their PhDs at the ETH Zurich, the two founders conducted research on direct air capture technology to remove carbon dioxide from the air. Based on that scientific research, Climeworks was founded as a spin-off from ETH Zurich, the 150 year old Swiss science and engineering university.

Gebald and Wurzbacher are on a journey to deliver positive climate impact at scale. To do so, the company strives to inspire 1 billion people to act and remove CO₂ from the air. Since 2009 it has developed 15 DAC facilities around the world, including 6 locations in Switzerland, plus the UK, Germany, Austria and Belgium, operated by 500 “Climeworkers” .

Here’s how Climeworks works:

• Direct Air Capture (DAC): Climeworks employs direct air capture technology, which captures CO₂ directly from the atmosphere. Their modular and scalable DAC plants use air collectors to draw in carbon and trap it on specialized filters.
• Mammoth Facility: Their new Mammoth facility in Hellisheidi, Iceland, is a game-changer. It can capture 36,000 tons of CO₂ annually at peak capacity—about 10 times larger than their existing Orca plant.
• Patented Technology: Climeworks intends to capture a megaton of CO₂ by 2030 and an astounding gigaton by 2050 using their patented technology. This commitment is crucial for achieving net-zero emissions globally.
• Global Recognition: Carbon removal has transitioned from a niche concept to a globally recognized solution. The U.S. Department of Energy even awarded funding to Climeworks and its partners to build the country’s first large-scale direct air capture facilities.
• Underground Storage: Climeworks combines DAC with permanent underground storage (DAC+S). They inject the captured CO₂ deep underground, where it reacts with basalt rock, transforming into stone and remaining safely stored for over 10,000 years. This ensures it no longer contributes to global warming.
• International Expansion: While Iceland offers ideal conditions, Climeworks is expanding globally. They’re exploring projects in the U.S., Canada, Norway, and Kenya to remove CO₂ on a megaton and gigaton scale.

By actively removing CO₂, Climeworks plays a vital role in our fight against climate change.

A few photos from my recent visit to the Icelandic site …

Approach the site, the nearby On geothermal power station provides huge amounts of clean, free energy to power the DAC process:

Climeworks’ new Mammoth plant is far larger than its initial Orca test facility, and is distinctive for its V shaped wings:

Up closer, the vents open, sucking carbon dioxide from the air, recognising the challenge is not just to reduce emissions but to clean up historic emissions:

Iceland was chosen as the location for the Swiss company’s plant as it is not only an excellent source of geothermal energy, but also to store the carbon underground, in partnership with Carbfix:

The “Mammoth” DAC facility, is currently the largest in the world, and was opened in April 2024, and now in full production:

Strava was founded in 2009 by Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey who first met in the 1980s as members of Harvard University’s rowing crew. It is backed by Sequoia Capital, Madrone Partners and Jackson Square Ventures.

The online application tracks your runs, rides and swims, and adds a social networking feature to share your workouts, best times, or to workout together. It started out tracking mostly outdoor cycling and running activities using GPS data, but now incorporates several dozen other exercise types, including indoor activities.

The app records data for a user’s activities, which can then be shared with the user’s followers or shared publicly. If an activity is shared publicly, Strava automatically groups activities that occur at the same time and place (such as taking part in a marathon, or group ride).

An activity’s recorded information may include a route summary, elevation (net and unidirectional), speed (average, minimum, maximum), timing (total and moving time), power and heart rate. Activities can be recorded using the mobile app or from devices made by other companies like Garmin, Suunto and more. Activities can also be entered manually via the Strava website.There is also Strava Metro, a program marketed towards city planners, uses cycling data from Strava users in supported cities and regions.

Strava incorporates social media features which allow users to post their exercises to followers. Alongside a GPS map of their exercise users can also post pictures and videos. Followers can then comment on posts and give ‘kudos’ in the form of a like button. Beacon is a feature that allows Strava users to share their location in real time with anyone they choose to, and nominate others as a safety contact for their workout. Other premium features include access to custom route-building tools and access to map segment leaderboards.

Strava maintains a system of leaderboards that show the most frequent runners or riders on a segment, as well as the fastest times by activity type. These fastest segment times (also known as KOMs (King of the Mountain) for cycling segments, or CRs (Course Record) for running segments) have been widely criticized for including times by athletes banned for doping, as well as fake times logged by motorized vehicles and other forms of cheating. In response, Strava released tools for users to report suspicious activities.

Strava uses a freemium model with some features only available in the paid subscription plan. It initially became popular with cyclists and then runners, and by 2017 over 1 billion activities had been uploaded to the service.

• 120M+ athletes across 190+ countries.
• 40M uploads every week.
• 6B activities recorded.

 

 

There are 7,000 known rare diseases that affect 400 million people across the globe, but only 5% of those conditions have an approved treatment.

This is largely due to the high costs and low return of rare disease drug treatments. Developing them runs into the billions of dollars yet there is a comparatively small number of people buying them. This means that the more than 400 million people worldwide who are affected by these rare diseases either have found that treatments don’t exist or their cost is inflated to eye-watering levels.

Yet it doesn’t have to be this way.

Tim Guilliams and David Brown founded the Cambridge startup, Healx, that is turning to the data-crunching power of artificial intelligence (AI) to rewrite the economics of drug discovery for the world’s rarest diseases.

Whilst at Pfizer, Brown who is now Chairman of Healx,  was named co-inventor on the patent for Viagra, and for 8 years he led the team that invented and developed Viagra through to proof of clinical efficacy in male impotence. The drug is also marketed for treatment of pulmonary hypertension under the trade name Revatio. He also had a pivotal role in the discovery of Relpax, a treatment for migraine. Together these drugs have achieved sales of over $40 billion.

Tim Guilliams is now CEO and says “It’s a huge problem and if you try to address it in the traditional way, you know two to three billion dollars per drug, 10 to 15 years, it just doesn’t work, it’s impossible,” Guilliams tells Verdict. “I think we found a sweet spot where we can basically maximise the work that’s already done by applying machine learning and finding shortcuts to this very long drug discovery process.”

While the technology underpinning Healx may be complex, the premise is simple. The company uses a range of algorithms to search for links between existing diseases for which there are treatments, and rare diseases for which there are not.

This process begins with a “deep data curation” phase, which sees Healx’s AI program look for gaps in existing medical data. Once identified, the biotech startup works with patient groups and academics to help fill them.

“The quality of what goes into your algorithm really relates to the quality that comes out,” explains Guilliams.

• Neste’s purpose: “To create a healthier planet for our children”
• Neste’s vision: “Leading the way towards a sustainable future together”

Neste has a long history of developing innovative, more sustainable solutions for road transport, aviation and the polymers and chemicals sectors. Its transformation journey has a strong Nordic heritage and it has taken the business from being a local oil refiner to becoming a global leader in renewable and circular solutions. Together with its partners, Neste works towards creating “a healthier planet for our children with more sustainable solutions”, believing this is the driving force for future success.

• 1948: Neste is founded to secure Finland’s oil supply
• 1996: Experimenting to develop 100% renewable diesel
• 2000s:  Investing in renewable diesel production in Porvoo, Singapore and Rotterdam
• 2020: Announced  strategic study on transitioning the Porvoo refinery into a globally leading renewable and circular solutions site
• 2025: Committing to support carbon neutral growth in aviation
• 2030: Helping our customers reduce their GHG emissions by up to 20 M tons annually
• 2023: Plan to end crude oil refining by mid-2030s and reaching carbon neutral production
• 2040: Reducing the use phase emission intensity of sold products by 50% compared to 2020 levels, and reducing emissions across our value chain

In 2023, Neste’s revenue stood at EUR 22.9 billion and the comparable EBITDA was 3,458 million euros. Neste employed an average of 6,018 employees in 2023. Neste has a strong global mindset with key markets in Europe and North America, production in three continents and other operations in 16 countries worldwide. Neste’s subsidiaries are located in the US and Europe. Neste’s station chains consist of almost 1000 traffic and automatic stations in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Neste produces renewable products at its refineries in Finland, the Netherlands and Singapore entirely from renewable raw materials with a current annual nameplate capacity of approximately 3.3 million tons. Neste’s Singapore refinery expansion and our joint operation, Martinez Renewables, with Marathon Petroleum in Martinez, California, will increase Neste’s total production nameplate capacity of renewable products to 5.5 million tons in 2024.

The company’s ambition is to make the Porvoo refinery in Finland the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030 and to reach carbon neutral production by 2035,  by introducing renewable and recycled raw materials such as liquefied waste plastic as refinery raw materials.

 

Neste is the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel and jet fuel derived from waste and residues.

It is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 million tons CO2 equivalent annually for their customers by 2030. Its goal is to achieve carbon-neutral production by 2035. Neste aims to reduce the use phase emission intensity of their sold products by 50% by 2040 compared to 2020 levels.

Neste is a forerunner in producing more sustainable raw materials for the polymers and chemicals industry. They focus on circular solutions, including novel vegetable oils and liquefied waste plastics. By expanding their global feedstock base, Neste strengthens its position in the waste and residues value chain.

DeHaat is an Indian agri-business combining traditional farming practices and modern technology, to create an integrated platform of products and services for farmers across India and beyond.

It was established in rural India, with a vision to empower farmers by providing them access to a wide range of agricultural inputs, markets, and crucial information. The name “DeHaat” itself reflects its mission, as it translates to “village” in Hindi.

Strategy:

• Connecting Farmers: DeHaat operates as an online marketplace, bridging the gap between farmers, suppliers, and buyers. It brings them together on a single platform.
• Full-Stack Platform: DeHaat’s innovative model involves individual farmers interacting with the platform via a toll-free number or a mobile application.
• Micro Entrepreneurs: Over 520 micro-entrepreneurs currently serve nearly 220,000 farmers in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha through DeHaat ².
• Agri Input Advisory: DeHaat provides valuable advice on soil health, agricultural inputs, and crop management.
• Farm Intelligence: Leveraging data analytics, it offers insights to enhance farm productivity.
• Finance Solutions: DeHaat addresses financial needs, ensuring farmers have access to credit and other financial services.
• Last-Mile Delivery: DeHaat’s unique delivery model focuses on the last mile, directly reaching farmers where they are.

By addressing all aspects of a farmer’s life, DeHaat aims to improve efficiency and efficacy throughout the agriculture value chain

DeHaat’s impact is evident in the lives of thousands of farmers who benefit from its services. It has successfully transformed the way farmers access information, inputs, and markets, contributing to their overall well-being.

The company’s journey from seeds to market exemplifies the fusion of tradition and technology, making it a leader in agritech in India, and beyond.

Hooi Ling Tan is co-founder of Grab, and recently ranked as one of Asia’s leading female entrepreneur by Forbes magazine.

A mechanical engineering graduate, she was previously a consultant at McKinsey & Company, advising global corporations in Southeast Asia, North America, Latin America and Australia. Hooi Ling met her co-founder Anthony Tan while pursuing their Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Harvard Business School in 2011. After finishing their studies, they headed home to start Grab – MyTeksi back then – in Kuala Lumpur before moving its headquarters to Singapore. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Fast forward to this day and Grab has grown into an “everyday” business, providing services in the food delivery, grocery delivery and fintech sector. It has crossed 2 billion rides in July and is on its way to achieving $1 billion revenue by end of this year. And of course, Grab is one of the two most talked-about and valuable startup in Southeast Asia.

But the startup is not going to stop at just that, it aims to become the quotidian app of Southeast Asian lives. “With Grab Platform, we’re transitioning from a transport company to an everyday super app. This is reflective of our growth over the past six years. Because we are the go-to transportation service provider in Southeast Asia, we now have a strong user base and wide distribution network, and we’ve been able to heavily invest in future services like food, payments and logistics. Today, we’re bringing it all together onto the Grab Platform. We’re focused on becoming Southeast Asia’s everyday super app, providing the most important everyday needs for Southeast Asians – food, payments, logistics, groceries deliveries.”

So, how do the two co-founders split the workload – who does what? Hooi Ling says, she oversees people and operations at Grab, while Anthony typically handles the more “external facing part” of the business. “That said, we collaborate a lot and exchange portfolios from time to time.”

In 2017, Grab raised a $2.5-billion round led by Chinese ride-hailing major Didi Chuxing and Japan’s Softbank Group. Didi’s president and a vocal gender diversity advocate, Jean Liu had told this portal that diversity is indispensable to the startup’s core value.

Similarly, gender has never been an issue for Hooi Ling and the rest of the team, where more than 40 per cent of Grab employees or Grabbers including team leads, are women, she said. “While we’re very proud of the fact that Grab’s gender balance is relatively equitable, we don’t take that for granted and we know we could still be doing more. We have a mentorship programme called Women at Grab, which started with leaders like myself and our Head of People, Chin Yin Ong, as mentors. As the programme has grown, we now have former mentees now serving as mentors to newer and younger colleagues at Grab,” she said.

The women support by Grab extends beyond the Grabbers. As women tend to prioritise family obligations much more, the flexibility of being a Grab driver and agent helps women take control of their finances while juggling family time, said Hooi Ling. “In 2017, the number of women driving for Grab grew by more than 230% and the total distance driven by women drivers increased by 570%. In Indonesia, the number of women driving for Grab went up by almost 500%!”

Some of the other programmes by Grab include Grab Academy for Wives, which provides wives of our driver partners with livelihood skills training to help them start their own small businesses and add to the household income for their families. Hooi Ling added that the startup has also hosted a UX learning workshop for a small group of its Grab driver partners’ teenage daughters to help them grow a design thinking mindset, which is “such an important life skill to have in tech and beyond.” “I’m a big believer that giving young people exposure to these kinds of ideas and skills early on lets them know what’s possible. It also helps gives them something to strive towards as they continue to grow and mature in life,” she added. Driving diversity across the board The startup world is a male-dominated one, and this is not just a general assumption or sentiment but backed by facts.

While in the US, only 17 per cent of startups have a female founder, in Southeast Asia particularly in Singapore, merely 5 per cent of tech startups are headed by women, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2014. The figure may have since increased slightly, but the 2017 report by WEC stated that globally, fields such as care economy and the emerging tech sector are the most affected sectors by gender bias, and are losing out on the benefits of diversity.

Hooi Ling says, “surrounding yourself with supporters, whether men or women, in your personal or professional life, is hugely important. We put great effort into creating that environment at Grab, where anybody can thrive regardless of gender, race, and nationality. At Grab, we don’t focus on your gender, we hire the best person for the job. We believe that if you are capable and you believe in our mission of driving Southeast Asia forward, you will be able to contribute to Grab.”

The Grab-Uber deal This year has been an extremely eventful one for Grab. Besides closing a $1-billion round from Toyota Motor Corp and launching its own venture arm, it also announced the acquisition of Uber’s Southeast Asia operations, including ride-sharing and food delivery business, in March. The deal also saw Uber pick up a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi join Grab’s board.

On the merger, Hooi Ling said: “The Uber partnership made a lot of sense because we had an explosive 2017 in terms of growth and after the acquisition, we were able to pivot quickly to O2O (online-to-offline) services.” “Post-acquisition we grew our GrabFood business to six countries from two countries.

Dara (Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO) is on our board, and working with Uber has been fantastic on many fronts. We are mutually learning from each other and our partnership is truly collaborative.” However, earlier in July, Singapore’s competition watchdog had since called out the merger, saying that it found evidence that the merger has substantially lessened competition and proposed to impose financial penalties on both Grab and Uber to restore market contestability. Grab has refuted the statement and denied that the merger has harmed competition.

Among the biggest challenge of running a regional business in the multicultural, multilingual Southeast Asia, is that the region is extremely fragmented. Hooi Ling said, Grab quickly recognised that a one-size-fits-all model is not going to work because each market is distinct in terms of users’ needs and transportation infrastructure.

“The constant challenge we face is tailoring models for specific markets, and ensuring that the technology supporting, what is essentially a unique experience tailored to each of the over 200 cities where we operate, remains scalable, reliable and safe. This is why we’ve been investing heavily in our engineering and R&D teams: we have six global R&D centres, located in Bangalore, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Seattle and Singapore supporting our rapid platform, something no other homegrown Southeast Asian ride-hailing company has,” she said.

Tan reflects on the culture they have created “At Grab, every Grabber is guided by The Grab Way, which explains our mission and the operating principles on how we can achieve it together. We call these principles the 4Hs”:

• Heart … We work together as OneGrab to serve communities in Southeast Asia
• Hunger … We work to understand ground truths and drive improvements, big and small
• Honour … We keep our word and steward our resources wisely to build and sustain trust
• Humility … We are a constant work-in-progress, and we never stop learning to get better.

Musinsa was founded by Han Hyun-Woong in 2001 as a small online community for fashion enthusiasts in South Korea. Originally named Musinsacom, the platform began as a place for users to share fashion tips, advice, and discuss trends.

Over time, it evolved into an e-commerce platform, capitalizing on the burgeoning online retail market in South Korea.

As Musinsa gained popularity, it expanded its offerings to include a wide range of fashion items, including clothing, shoes, accessories, and more.

The platform focused on providing a curated selection of products from both established and emerging brands, catering to the diverse tastes of its user base.

Musinsa also developed mobile applications to make shopping more convenient for its users, tapping into the growing trend of mobile commerce.

One key strategy of Musinsa has been its emphasis on community engagement. The platform encourages user interaction through features like forums, user-generated content, and reviews.

By fostering a sense of community, Musinsa not only drives user engagement but also taps into the power of word-of-mouth marketing and user-generated content.

Another strategic focus for Musinsa has been its efforts to collaborate with both established and up-and-coming fashion brands. These collaborations help differentiate the platform and attract fashion-conscious consumers.

Musinsa offers a wide range of brands, including both domestic South Korean brands and international labels. Some popular brands featured on Musinsa include Adidas, Nike, Fila, Supreme, and many others.

In addition to well-known brands, Musinsa also showcases emerging designers and boutique labels, providing a platform for them to reach a wider audience.

Musinsa has embraced technological innovation to enhance the shopping experience for its users. This includes features like personalized recommendations, advanced search capabilities, and AI-powered styling advice.

The platform also leverages data analytics to gain insights into consumer preferences and behavior, enabling it to tailor its offerings and marketing strategies more effectively.

Additionally, Musinsa has explored innovative marketing tactics, such as influencer partnerships and social media campaigns, to connect with its target audience and drive brand awareness.