EDB New Ventures taps ENGIE Factory to launch zero-carbon startups

It has launched seven cleantech ventures since its launch in early 2019.

The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) New Ventures group will collaborate with ENGIE Factory, the venture arm of ENGIE Asia-Pacific, to launch a portfolio of new, zero-carbon startups in the next three years.

ENGIE Factory’s venture build programme uses proven, highly customer-centric corporate venturing methodology, which begins with a list of ideas and problems identified through its research and results in venture-grade business plans.

This corporate venturing model has allowed ENGIE to expand its activities in two ways: first, to use technology to grow its offering to new groups of customers; second, to bridge sustainability and tech industries such as IoT, AI and fintech, to strengthen the reach and accessibility of low-carbon client solutions.

“Our mission is to build the next generation in sustainability ventures that accelerate the transition to zero carbon, using profitable business models and by solving problems customers really care about,” said Quentin Vaquette, founder and managing director of ENGIE Factory.

Furthermore, according to ENGIE Factory, cleantech as a venture investment segment is often misunderstood. “The next decade in sustainability is about business model innovation whereas most still think it is only about inventing new technologies,” Vaquette continued.

Since its launch in early 2019, ENGIE Factory has initiated seven new ventures and tested 10 technology solutions from existing startups.