TLDR:
- Ahold Delhaize, Tesco, and other grocery retail giants have launched a collaborative venture fund called W23 Global.
- The fund will invest in innovative startups and scaleups that focus on enhancing customer experiences, transforming the grocery value chain, and addressing sustainability challenges in the sector.
Ahold Delhaize, Tesco, Woolworths Group, Empire Company/Sobeys, and Shoprite Group have come together to establish W23 Global, a venture capital fund aimed at investing in startups and scaleups that use technology to improve customer experiences, revolutionize the grocery value chain, and tackle sustainability issues in the industry. Each retailer is an equal funder and partner in this initiative, with their CEOs sitting on the investment committee.
W23 Global CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Ingrid Maes, believes that the venture fund has the potential to be a game-changer on an international level. The fund will work with investors to identify common challenges and support entrepreneurs in developing solutions, providing faster pathways to global expansion for portfolio companies. The portfolio companies will be free to engage with any customer on their own terms, whether a W23 Global partner or not.
According to Ahold Delhaize CEO, Frans Muller, the collaboration with other industry leaders will maximize the impact of their efforts in retail innovation. The aim is to work with startups and scaleups to drive retail innovation, promote sustainability, and create more value for communities worldwide. Tesco Group CEO, Ken Murphy, expressed excitement about working with other leading grocery retailers to seek out the best retail innovations on a global scale.
W23 Global will focus on investing in startups that use technology to benefit consumers, optimize grocery value chains, and address sustainability challenges such as emissions and waste reduction, packaging innovation, product traceability, healthy choices, and biodiversity. The fund will also seek out entrepreneurs to solve existing problems that are not adequately addressed in the industry.
