Unreasonable Impact announces new roster of ventures for the 2025 Asia Pacific programme

- Unreasonable Impact adds 14 ventures tackling critical global issues to its 2025 Asia Pacific programme.

- The initiative, run by Barclays and Unreasonable Group since 2016, helps scale growth-stage businesses through mentoring and a network of support.

- The 14 companies joining this year’s programme have collectively raised circa $270 million in financing.

Unreasonable Impact, a partnership between Unreasonable Group and Barclays, which supports high-growth ventures to scale and address global issues, has introduced the newest cohort of ventures selected for its Asia Pacific programme.

This year’s ventures are offering solutions from sustainable materials to providing AI-driven tools for measurement and reporting. Among them are:

●  Phool – Phool converts temple flower waste into products like incense and biodegradable alternatives to materials like leather. Founder and CEO Ankit Agarwal, an Acumen and Echoing Green Fellow, leads the company’s work to scale circular materials while creating dignified livelihoods for marginalised women in India.

●  Unravel Carbon – Unravel Carbon helps enterprises measure, reduce, and report carbon emissions across their operations and supply chains using its AI-powered decarbonisation platform. Co-founder and CEO Grace Sai, a serial entrepreneur and Kauffman Fellow, is directing the company’s efforts to accelerate enterprise action on climate and seeking to reduce one gigaton of emissions globally.

●  Algal Bio – Algal Bio develops algae-based solutions for carbon capture, nutrition, cosmetics, and bioplastics using a proprietary screening platform built on over 20 years of research. CEO Amane Kimura is leading the company’s mission to scale algae innovations that address environmental, food, and health challenges globally.

Collectively, this year’s Asia Pacific cohort has raised circa $270 million to date and generated over $150 million in revenue in 2024.

Through regional gatherings and ongoing community-building initiatives, the Unreasonable Impact programme is designed to help participating entrepreneurs form strategic relationships and quickly solve key challenges facing their businesses to help them scale.

Post-programme, companies will continue to receive access to specialist advice from over 1,500 mentors, many of whom are Barclays colleagues, and connections to over 2,000 investors, through the Unreasonable community.

Supporting entrepreneurs to power innovation, accelerate growth and foster resilient communities

Since its launch in 2016, the programme has supported 362 ventures so far, collectively raising over $14bn in financing, and employing more than 31,000 people.

This year’s ventures operate in over 60 countries and collectively employ 4,150 people.

Daniel Epstein, CEO of Unreasonable Group, commented:

“At Unreasonable Group, we believe that solving global challenges requires not just breakthrough ideas, but the right ecosystem of support. The companies in this year’s programme are developing practical solutions that can drive meaningful change and growth. By working with Barclays and our wider network, we’re helping them gain the mentorship, investment, and market access they need to scale their businesses effectively"

Deborah Goldfarb, Global Head of Citizenship, Barclays, commented:

Vriko Yu, Co-founder and CEO of Archireef – a new Unreasonable Impact participant, commented:

“At Archireef, we’re passionate about restoring marine ecosystems through Nature-based Solutions, and this opportunity means a great deal to us. It’s a chance to connect with like-minded changemakers, share insights from our work in Hong Kong and the UAE, and accelerate the impact we can create together. I’m especially looking forward to learning from the incredible mentors and tapping into the Unreasonable network - a community that will both inspire and push us to think bigger, act bolder, and scale our mission to restore ocean health more effectively than ever.”

The 14 companies joining the 2025 Unreasonable Impact Asia Pacific programme include:

●  Algal Bio – Algal Bio develops algae-based solutions for carbon capture, nutrition, cosmetics, and bioplastics using a proprietary screening platform.

●  Aquaconnect – Aquaconnect provides AI-driven tools and market access for global seafood producers to improve transparency and farm productivity.

●  Archireef – Archireef restores coral ecosystems using 3D-printed reef tiles and nature-based solutions that support marine biodiversity.

●  Armored Fresh – Armored Fresh produces cheese through innovative precision formulation of plant based lactic acid and plant-based milk.

●  Dagangan – Dagangan connects rural Indonesian retailers to essential goods through a tech-enabled supply chain network.

●  EcoBricks – EcoBricks upcycles plastic and construction waste into certified sustainable bricks for the building industry.

●  ftcash – ftcash offers digital lending and mobile payments to India’s underserved micro-merchants, providing quick, paperless loans and repayment through integrated systems.

●  Phool – Phool converts temple flower waste into biodegradable materials and products like incense or biodegradable packaging, while employing marginalised women.

●  Shandi – Shandi produces affordable, plant-based protein using its proprietary Canatein ingredient for high-protein food alternatives.

●  Speedoc – Speedoc delivers hospital-level care at home through its virtual platform, offering treatment, diagnostics, and monitoring.

●  TeOra – TeOra creates oral biotech treatments to prevent disease in aquaculture, replacing traditional antibiotics and injections.

●  Ujala Cygnus – Ujala Cygnus runs affordable hospitals across rural India, providing specialist care and preventive health services.

●  Unravel Carbon – Unravel Carbon helps businesses measure, reduce, and report emissions across their supply chains using an AI-powered decarbonisation and climate risk platform.

●  WearOptimo – WearOptimo develops AI-powered microwearable sensors that monitor hydration and biosignals through a sticker-like patch, with applications across sport, defence, and industry.

ENDS

Notes 

●  Unreasonable Impact runs three regional programmes annually across the UK and Europe, the Americas, and Asia Pacific, bringing together a select group of fast-growth businesses with a handpicked community of mentors, investors and specialists. The next regional programme after the Asia Pacific programme is in the Americas in October 2025.

●  A number of Unreasonable Impact ventures have also been supported by Barclays Climate Ventures, and some are used in Barclays’ own operations today. In multiple cases, Unreasonable Impact ventures have become Barclays clients across Barclays UK, the UK Corporate Bank and the Investment Bank.

●  Other notable Unreasonable Impact alumni include:

●  Craif, a molecular diagnostics company using miRNA and machine learning to detect cancer in its earliest stages. Its miSignal assay, now available in Japan, screens for seven cancer types, with expansion underway in the U.S. through ongoing clinical validation and market entry efforts.

●  Magorium, a Singapore-based startup converting unrecyclable plastic waste into NEWBitumen, a construction-grade material used in roads. With over 100,000 kilograms of waste diverted to date, Magorium partners with corporates and government bodies to advance circular solutions and reduce reliance on crude-based resources in infrastructure.

Find out more in the latest Impact Report.