Professional services firm Ernst & Young has further expanded its Foundry startup incubator program in the Asia Pacific, to now include Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Guam.
The six-month virtual program provides early-stage start-ups working in particular in the area of tax services innovation with support through individually tailored activities including workshops and piloting and scaling sessions.
First launched in 2018, the program now runs in eleven countries, having been previously rolled out to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand. Submissions for this year’s program will close on the 15th of April, with successful applicants to be announced in May. Participants will also receive $120,000 worth of Microsoft Azure credits.
To qualify, the early-stage start-ups (Series A funding or earlier) will need to demonstrate that their technology- or product-related offering adds value to the EY business in at least one of four outlined innovation areas covering disruptive technologies, ESG and sustainability, client experience, and human resources. They will also need a working prototype or be working toward one which is internationally scalable.
“Our incubator program has a new focus on innovation,” said EY Asean Tax managing partner Amarjeet Singh. “Start-ups from all sectors are invited to collaborate with us in developing pilot solutions to enhance our clients’ experience and develop the services of tomorrow, leverage disruptive technology to create new markets and business models, meet sustainability goals, and stay centered on people and wellness.”
In addition to gaining insights from EY subject matter experts and the firm’s collaborators, participants will be able to choose from a series of workshops which best suit their particular backgrounds and business needs, including sessions on tax and R&D incentives and grants, company law, raising capital, people management, and generally pitching and selling products to corporates and large enterprises.
“EY Foundry is a program all startups that fit the criteria should consider,” said program alumni Vivian Zhou, a former Accenture senior consultant who co-founded data security and collaboration platform Karlsgate. “The program was tailored based on our needs with the focus being to help grow and scale our business through access to EY networks, Microsoft Azure credits and subject-matter professionals.”
Source: Consultancy.asia
April 17, 2022
