Global Retailers Collaborate on VC Fund

Ahold Delhaize, Tesco, Australia- and New Zealand-based Woolworths Group, Canada-based Empire Company Limited/Sobeys Inc., and Africa-based Shoprite have come together to launch W23 Global, a retail venture capital fund.

The fund will invest $125 million over five years in innovative startups and scaleups that deploy technology to enhance customer experiences both in-store and online, increase productivity across the grocery value chain, and address the industry’s sustainability challenges, said Tesco.

“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,” said Tesco Group CEO Ken Murphy in a statement.

Some of the sustainability issues the leaders seek to address include challenges associated with the farm-to-household supply chain, including emissions and waste reduction, packaging innovation, product traceability and transparency, healthy choices, and biodiversity, said Tesco.

W23 Global is led by CEO and chief investment officer Ingrid Maes who brings more than 25 years of retail experience and currently leads Woolworths’ innovation fund. Each retailer is an equal funder and partner in the fund and their respective CEOs will sit on the investment committee.

“W23 Global is a pioneering international VC fund with a uniquely powerful proposition for both our investors and portfolio companies. 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,” said Maes in a statement.