Tesco has become one of five leading global supermarkets to set up a collaborative venture fund to accelerate innovation across retail.
Funded by partners such as Tesco, Woolworths Group, and Ahold Delhaize, the W23 Global venture fund aims to invest in innovative start-ups and scale-ups, which use technology to enhance shopper experiences in-store and online.
It also seeks to increase productivity throughout the grocery value chain and address the industry’s sustainability challenges, ranging from biodiversity in agriculture to sustainable packaging.
The chief executives of each global grocery partner will form part of the investment committee, with Tesco contributing almost £20m over five years.
The supermarket’s group CEO Ken Murphy said: “We are excited to be collaborating with four other leading grocery retailers in this new investment fund.
“We are passionate about seeking out the best retail innovations and finding ways to make everything we do sustainable, and this partnership allows us to do that on a truly global scale.”
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W23 Global CEO and chief investment officer Ingrid Maes also commented: “At a time when innovation is reshaping retail and value chains across the economy, we aim to offer our investors incomparable access to transformative innovation in grocery and sustainability across the globe.
The exec claimed the venture fund would work with investors to “identify common unaddressed challenges and identify entrepreneurs best placed to innovate new solutions”.
She said: “Our ambition is to offer our portfolio companies faster pathways to global scale, without being exposed to a venture fund anchored by a single strategic investor.
“With five of the world’s leading grocery CEOs sitting on our investment committee and access to our broader ecosystem, our founders can test and develop their ideas quickly based on an accelerated understanding of retailers’ needs.”
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