ENGIE Factory Newsletter - Aug & Sep Edition

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS        

ENGIE's Chairman of the Board of Directors visits ENGIE Factory

We were honoured to have hosted Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ENGIE, at ENGIE Factory Asia Pacific office! Our founders, Prasoon Kumar?from BillionBricks, Joel Tay?from PHNXX, Bolong Chew?and Gérald Chablowski?from GetSolar, and Jason Tang?from TablePointer, had the opportunity to present to Jean-Pierre their startups. They showcased their product and growth roadmap and shared how they accelerate decarbonisation for the real estate and food and beverage industry. ?

ENGIE Factory as expert roundtable moderator for SYNC Climate Tech 2023

Organized by Tech in Asia, our Managing Director Caroline Guyot, had the opportunity to be one of the expert roundtable moderators at SYNC Climate Tech 2023. She led discussions for the topic “Is the Future Electric” which takes an in-depth exploration of energy transition in Asia.??

Guest Speaker for SGInnovate and SwissCham Singapore event

Taking a deep dive into the future of energy, Caroline Guyot, our managing director, was invited to be a guest speaker at SGInnovate and Swisscham Singapore’s The Realists’ Point of View on the Energy Transition in Asia. Along with a panel of exceptional entrepreneurs, they discussed on challenges and how current startups are helping to lead in energy transitions around Asia.?

MING Labs and ENGIE Factory Singapore Design Week workshop

In collaboration with MING Labs?and part of Singapore Design Week, we hosted an interactive workshop on circular design, "From Ambition to Action: The Circular Design Challenge" at ENGIE Factory Asia-Pacific's space!

BillionBricks?founder Prasoon Kumar?was a guest speaker presenting how BillionBricks integrates circularity into the business to provide sustainable homes. We also had our VP of Venture Scale Tim van Vliet?be part of the expert panel discussion, alongside Martin Sohr?from Nestlé and Joelle Chen?from Lendlease, that was hosted by Sebastian Mueller?of MING Labs to share their experiences in utilising circularity and current efforts in embracing circularity.

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT        

SolarAI Technologies rebrands to GetSolar and successful fundraise

A new chapter begins, our portfolio startup Solar AI Technologies has been rebranded to GetSolar!? Congratulations to the team on the launch and on hitting a big milestone in August where they successfully closed $1.5m in seed funding from partners including Earth Venture Capital and Investible. The funds raised would primarily be used to upscale its Rent-To-Own solar programme within Singapore, before embarking on regional expansion in the next 12 months.

Learn more about their rebranding here and about the fundraiser here!

GetSolar's founder, Bolong Chew, was also featured on MoneyFM 89.3's Mind Your Business podcast to share the prospects of using solar energy! Click here to listen to it.

BillionBricks Feature on podcast and events

As a guest on Slow Secrets Essential podcast, BillionBricks?founder and CEO Prasoon Kumar shared how BillionBricks addresses the Philippines' housing crisis and sustainability as part of decarbonizing the future. The podcast is a sharing session for homeowners to learn more about sustainable architecture and the decarbonising housing movement. Listen to it here!

Additionally, Prasoon attended two key events representing BillionBricks. He was a speaker for the Design Futures Forum 2023 organized by DesignSingapore Council as part of the segment “Design for the Future of Sustainability”. Along with other speakers from different industries, they shared the current innovations and approaches towards sustainability and technology.

BillionBricks was invited to be a panellist at the Time 100 Leadership Forum and Impact Awards organised by Time and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). BillionBricks’s founder, Prasoon Kumar, had the opportunity to showcase how BillionBricks strives towards the future of sustainable and affordable housing to both local and international guests.

PHNXX recipient for the LaunchVic Agtech Grants Program

Congratulations to PHNXX?for being selected to receive the LaunchVic Agtech Grants Program!

PHNXX is a modular microgrid solution that provides customers with reliable, sustainable, cost-effective power on demand to suit their unique energy consumption profiles. The solution offers multiple sources of renewable energy generation coupled with battery storage and managed by an integrated Smart Energy Management System to meet customer energy demands without relying on the grid. ?

UPDATE ON FACTORY        

Latest addition to the team!

Tim is the VP Venture Scale and has spent his career before Engie in entrepreneurship and at start-ups. In his role, Tim uses his background to help build and scale start-ups from Engie Factory.

He set up an e-commerce business at age 17 and ran the business during his studies. In 2011 he launched Holland Milk, an infant nutrition business in Beijing and exited the business in 2018. Later, Tim joined Innovafeed, a Temasek-backed start-up that has raised $500m, as Head of Asia Expansion.

In 2020, he co-founded INSEACT, an ag-tech start-up in Singapore. The business raised 1.5mn USD from VCs such as the Asian Development Bank. He grew the team to 13, set up a Singaporean pilot factory and grew annualised signed sales to $20m. The business was acquired in 2023.

Tim holds an MBA from INSEAD, a Degree in Chinese from Tsinghua University and a bachelor's degree from Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.?