Building a Sustainability impact-driven community and collaborative platform for Southeast Asia hasn't been the easiest task. How did we start to embark on this goal?
Since 2017, our core work has been in accelerating sustainable innovation and talents in Southeast Asia.
With a dedicated team of volunteers and full-timers, we incubated 27 sustainability-focused initiatives and engaged over 4,000+ youth and educators through sustainability workshops and events.
In late 2020, our team embarked on building a platform to build the capacity of the sustainability ecosystem at scale and encourage collaborations.
The team
Founder & CEO Product Manager Chief Strategy Officer Chief Marketing Officer | Fullstack Developer Fullstack Developer Backend Developer Frontend Developer |
Number of users
Thank you 123 (we swear this is not a made up number) regional users for taking the time to be a part of the Interseed's platform and helping to map out sustainability users in the scene open to collaboration.
Here is a little peek into the fields that our users are interested in:
From program to platform
Over 3 years, YSI SEA's Innovation Programmes incubated 27 regional impact startups. Interacting with founders have made us understand the difficulties they face in creating and scaling sustainability solutions.
Each year, we also receive 1000s of applicants for the programme but we could only select 25 founders.
Interseed was born as a way to reach more impact founders across the region through a platform and build the capacity of the sustainability sector in the region.
Roadmap
2017
Incorporated Young Sustainable Impact Southeast Asia (YSI SEA) with mission to empower Southeast Asian impact startups
2018
Incubated 6 Impact startups in our 5-month Regional Sustainability Innovation Programme
Sustainability workshops for 600 youths
Ran public sustainability showcases with 500 attendees and 20 ecosystem partners
2019
Incubated 8 Impact startups in our 5-month Regional Sustainability Innovation Programme
Sustainability workshops for 2000 youths & educators
Ran public sustainability showcases with 600 attendees and 40 ecosystem partners
2020
Incubated 13 Impact startups in our 5-month Regional Sustainability Innovation Programme
Managed sustainability innovation projects for companies and institutions
2021
Developed and launched app.interseed.co web-based platform to build capacity of regional sustainability ecosystem
123 users onboarded
Microsoft GreenTech Challenge providing opportunities for impact startup
Launch of Interseed podcast
Next...
Integrating more tools and opportunities on app.interseed.co to empower the regional sustainability community
Programmes and mentorship to provide upskilling and portfolio-building opportunities for students and young professionals
Our startups' performance
Phytopia
Phytopia is a social enterprise based in Malaysia, redefining healthy food by building a horizontally integrated supply chain. The social cafe act as a platform bridging the fresh vegetable supply from small farmers with customers.
Here are their 2021 highlights!
Part of Youth CO:LAB Malaysia 2021.
Supporting partner for Thought for Food at the Future Food Tech Festival (FFF) alongside established startups
UMK Entrepreneurship Award 20211 for Student Social Enterprise Award, and Mentor of the Year
Featured in Vulcan Post
Ramadhan Freedge Campaign sponsoring meals
Partnership with Roger Makan for food deliveries
Light of Hope PH
Light of Hope PH is a grassroots movement from Cebu, Philippines aiming to help mitigate climate change and uplift the lives of the less privileged off-the-grid communities through the use of clean renewable energy technologies and Internet of Things technologies.
Here are their 2021 highlights!
53 family beneficiaries and 2,255 kg CO2 reduced
National Finals of Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations
Deployed Cloudgrid units to family beneficiaries in Brgy. Pulangbato Cebu Philippines with Youth In Climate Action, and Vriendschapsband and Haarlemmermeer Cebu
Partnership with First Gen Corporation's EmPOWER
Winner of GREENPRENEURS 2021 Program
Finalist for British Council COP26 #DestinationZero Climate Innovation Challenge
Datanam
Datanam is a SEA-based precision vertical farming company built to address issues around resource efficiency and food security in modern agriculture.
Secured partnerships with government agencies to set up Datanam's first "satellite" farm location in Malaysia
Datanam's MaGIC Agritech Bootcamp for the next 2 weeks with UC Berkeley's Clark Kellogg, Jeff Eyet and team
Reducing crop cycles by 40% through optimisation and automation allowing for faster harvest
Empowering consumers to build their own farms with home space
Utilisation and optimisation of purified water that decreases water usage by 95% and using 90% less fertilisers
Leveraging on blockchain and IOT to ensure traceability and quality assurance
Singapore Greentech Challenge
Interseed was the ecosystem partner for the inaugural Singapore Greentech Challenge powered by Microsoft and organized by Creitive.
We sourced 29 startups from all across APAC who have greentech solutions that align with the SG Green Plan 2030!
Here are some the startups!
CleanRobotics makes waste management smart with Trashbot™, a robotic trash can that automatically separates recyclables from landfill waste
Handprint enables carbon absorption from the atmosphere, which has more impact than only reducing the carbon emissions, and improves the livelihood of local villagers living by the mangroves reforestation areas.
SAVOUR! connects non-profit organizations, event planners and companies to merchants with products available at bulk discounts and sponsorships for office operations, programmes and event needs.
Sunkonnect is a renewable energy management consulting firm based in Singapore and they work with system owners, developers, EPC players and manufacturers in making significant and long-lasting improvements to their products and processes.
Talks Hosted, Moderated, and Participated
Bringing ecosystem players together is one of our most important goals.
In 2021, we hosted 7 talks, moderated 1, and were a part of 3 talks.
From the exciting world of the clean energy space, to sustainability trends, to food waste, we wanted to capture the broad spectrum of amazing sustainability hot topics to engage the community with.
Plastics recycling opportunities in the APAC region with Tan Jia Hui
Unpacking the IPCC Report with Nicole Lim
We are also grateful to be able to join the following talks:
Institute of Policy Studies | Forum on Sustainability and Liveability
Content Released
Our amazing content team has been working hard to produce and deliver a wide range of content to engage our community with.
5 podcast produced by Irsyad Ramthan and Lihong Chew
58 blog entries sharing our insights with the community and pushing the sustainability movement forward especially our ongoing learning in public series.
5 documentaries (4 of which are produced by Caecilla Sherina from CINEMAWITHOUTWALL!
Platform Highlights
60 regional funding listing consolidating opportunities for impact-making users to leverage on, all in one place
11 market research listing open sourced market insights empowering founders with insights, and letting talents build their portfolio
Featured!
ClimateChangeSG
Edge 35 Under 35
CNA 93.8
Thank you for your support!
Our mentors Chow Yen-Lu, and Leon Toh
Yuen Ping from NUS
Ecosystem Partners
Microsoft
Creitive
WeGotThis
NUS Enterprise
Ecolabs NTU
Crater
SG Eco Fund
BOP Hub
Asia Institute of Mentoring
Startup Weekend SG
SCAPE
Earth School SG
Download the Annual Report here!