Ernst & Young names 16 winners in tech-start-up competition; 2 from PHL

SGV & Co., a member firm of Ernst & Young (EY) Global Ltd., has announced the winning start-up participants accepted into EY’S “Foundry Cohort 5” (EY Foundry).

The accounting firm explained in a statement that since 2018, EY Foundry has been helping early-stage tech startups accelerate business growth through piloting and scaling activities with the EY organization, in particular its “tax, law and people advisory services” teams.

EY Foundry helps start-ups to connect and network, with a focus on generating internal traction for the start-ups. Over the past four years, the EY Foundry program has incubated four cohorts, a total of 22 start-ups, facilitated product demonstrations to the EY organization and enterprise teams and technology pilots within the global EY network.

The EY Foundry program will be run virtually and will include start-ups across Asia-pacific including Australia, Cambodia, Guam, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The

EY Foundry received a record number of applicants for the program, going from strength to strength in supporting startups across Asia-pacific and the global EY network. It has been focused on increasing support for women-led enterprises and this year eight out of the 16 start-ups are founded by women entrepreneurs, increasing the average across its five cohorts to 46 percent, more than double the global average.

The 16 start-ups in this year’s program were chosen based on their ability to provide disruptive technologies and solutions across the following areas of innovation: services of tomorrow; new enterprise; sustainability; and, people and wellness.

Beginning in July 2022 and for a period of six months, the start-ups in Cohort 5 will participate in a range of activities that will give participants the tools to accelerate growth and expand their customer base. Participants will also receive Microsoft Azure credits worth $150,000 to help develop their technology stack.