Syngenta opens first Digital Innovation Lab in Southeast Asia at LEVEL3
- This Digital Innovation Lab, a part of a global network of similar facilities, is aimed at developing advanced agricultural solutions that will benefit farmers in our region.
- These digital solutions will enable sustainable farming and improve efficiencies for growers. Initial innovations by Syngenta’s Digital Inovation Labs have already benefited 150,000 smallholder farmers.
- Partnerships with start-ups and other innovators are essential to the ongoing development of this Digital Innovation Lab.
On 17 April, Syngenta announced the establishment of its first Digital Innovation Lab in Southeast Asia, based in Singapore. As one of the network of Syngenta Digital Innovation Labs around the world, the Singapore site will contribute towards an overall vision of digital transformation of agriculture through the development of technology and solutions for Asia Pacific’s farmers.
The specific mandate of Syngenta’s Digital Innovation Lab in Singapore will be the creation of digital solutions for food and agriculture, with a focus on the uniqueness of Asia’s agriculture landscape and the smallholder farmers here.
“Syngenta sees great potential in digital solutions as they enable the region’s smallholder farmers to improve productivity, drive on-farm sustainability and ultimately, to improve their livelihoods,” said David Ryan, Head of Commercial Excellence, APAC. “We are very excited to see how digital data and other new technologies can transform agriculture – from how we interact with farmers to the way that crops are managed.”
Housed at LEVEL3, a co-working space for tech innovation in Singapore created by Unilever Foundry and innovation catalyst Padang & Co, Syngenta’s Digital Innovation Lab will combine the resource and network of a global agribusiness with the agility and innovation of start-ups and technology enterprises.
“Partnerships with local and regional innovators is absolutely critical to the way we will develop solutions here. These sorts of collaborations will enable us to embed a culture of experimentation and on the other hand, allow successful innovations to scale,” said Dave Shepherd, Syngenta’s Digital Innovation Lab Lead. “As such, Singapore was a natural choice for us as it has an environment that encourages a growing ecosystem of start-ups and innovations.”
“The Syngenta Digital Innovation Lab demonstrates how businesses can leverage Singapore’s strong digital capabilities to develop new innovations and business models to tap into the region’s growth, effectively overcoming traditional physical constraints such as geography,” said Ms Cindy Koh, Director, Energy & Chemicals, Singapore Economic Development Board. “The lab will strengthen Singapore’s positon as a leading agrochemical hub in the region and will create exciting multidisciplinary career opportunities for Singaporeans in the chemical industry.”
“We’re extremely pleased to welcome Syngenta to LEVEL3 as it grows its innovation network around the world,” said Barbara Guerpillon, Head of Unilever Foundry SEAA and LEVEL3. “For more than a year, LEVEL3 has worked to build an ecosystem that encourages true innovation and collaboration, and have recently announced key strategic pillars to guide us further in this mission. One of these is Food and Agriculture Technology, and the Syngenta Digital Innovation Lab will open up even more opportunities for startups and Unilever to work on the technology solutions that will be critical for sustainable agricultural growth as Asia and the world’s population increase.”
Digital solutions that have been developed by Syngenta’s Digital Innovation Labs around the world have already benefited 150,000 smallholders. These include a mobile app that enables the easy identification of pests and diseases through photos, precision agriculture tools and tailored risk management solutions.
With digital innovation and data integration playing an increasingly pronounced role in bringing successful agriculture technologies and solutions to market, the Syngenta Digital Innovation Lab is poised to help accelerate the development of these tools, ultimately helping farmers grow more from less. Making crops more efficient is among the six commitments laid out in The Good Growth Plan, the company’s global strategy to sustainably feed a growing population.
About Syngenta Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown. We are committed to rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more, visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com
About LEVEL3
LEVEL3 is Singapore’s most vibrant co-working space for experimentation and innovation. By fostering a collaborative culture and providing proximity to our corporate and government partners, we provide startups a unique opportunity to prototype their ideas and solutions in a real-world business context. LEVEL3 is now open to tech startups and entrepreneurs, not just those in Singapore but also startups that have an innovative product or service and are ready to scale in this part of the world. LEVEL3 now houses 60 startups and 170 members. It has facilitated 20 mentorship pairings between Unilever executives and startups and developed pilots with 15 startups in the past year.
About Unilever Foundry
Unilever Foundry is a global platform for partnering with the world's best startups to accelerate innovation on a global scale. It brings together Unilever and startups, to encourage innovation and create new partnerships that deliver real and meaningful business impact. Unilever Foundry focuses on the following areas: Marketing Tech & Ad Tech, Enterprise Tech, Products & Ingredients, New Business Model Innovation and Social Impact.
Unilever Foundry provides a single entry-point for innovative startups seeking to partner with Unilever, enabling the company’s global brands to experiment with and pilot new technologies more efficiently and effectively. It provides startups with the opportunity to develop and work on global projects, access mentoring from marketing professionals, and tap into funding through Unilever Ventures. Startups are invited to apply to be part of the Unilever Foundry at http://foundry.unilever.com
About Padang & Co
Padang & Co is an innovation catalyst for corporates and government agencies, helping startups and corporates such as Unilever connect and create new opportunities for innovation. Padang & Co is the architect of LEVEL3 and will be designing the programmes and managing the space. We believe LEVEL3 is a unique opportunity to ignite innovation and ultimately generate business activity for all.