Innovation for everyday needs

FROM healthcare products and AI-powered logistics to advanced materials for thermal management and maritime solutions, these five companies are tackling everyday needs and challenges. They are among 10 finalists of the 2026 Emerging Enterprise Sustainability Award.

Established in 2008, the Emerging Enterprise Award recognises startups and young businesses across Singapore and Asia, providing resources to support their growth.

These businesses share an enterprising mindset, pursuing growth and seeking out new markets and opportunities. The 2026 awards are co-presented by The Business Times and OCBC, and supported by preferred payment solutions partner Mastercard, official auditor RSM Singapore, A*Star, Enterprise Singapore and Paia from CBRE.

Tackling the stigma around incontinence with senior-focused products

Aire has grown to become the second-largest adult diaper brand across leading channels, while working to open up conversations around incontinence

For many people, incontinence is difficult to talk about. Involuntary urine leakage affects up to 400 million people worldwide and up to 30 per cent of Singaporeans, yet the condition remains stigmatised. Adult diapers have also long been associated with bulky designs, heat and rashes.

We want to change how seniors experience and talk about incontinence, starting with products designed around it. Through AIRE, we offer a range of adult diapers, pull-up pants and leak pads, made for Asian bodies using breathable, cottony-soft materials with absorbency of up to two litres for overnight leaks.

Our products contain no latex, lotion or fragrance, and are designed to provide rash-free protection without compromising on comfort, helping seniors go about their days and rest more comfortably at night.

We have received more than 20,000 five-star reviews and have grown to become the second-largest adult diaper brand across leading channels within three years. 

Currently, our products are stocked online and at major retailers including FairPrice and Watsons, as well as hospital pharmacies and polyclinics.

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Building solutions for changing needs

From the beginning, we have built AIRE with and for seniors. We involve them in testing and developing our products, and their feedback continues to shape our innovation pipeline and the products, educational content, and community initiatives we develop.

But we believe changing the experience of incontinence also means changing the conversation around it. Through our recently launched Humans of Aire series, we hope to challenge perceptions around ageing and celebrate seniors who continue to lead active lives.

We also work with Active Ageing Centres, the People’s Association and other community organisations to run incontinence awareness and education workshops, often bringing physiotherapists, geriatricians and other partners on board.

For us, the goal goes beyond making incontinence products more comfortable. We want to normalise conversations around incontinence, so seniors feel less alone, while amplifying those conversations to build a stronger community.

Innovating products based on customer insights

Lafre develops a range of feminine products that are relevant and practical for its customers

Instead of simply selling feminine care products, Lafre is listening to what women need and turning those insights into products that are practical, relevant and affordable.

We aim to grow beyond period care into a trusted everyday brand for women. Our business focuses on combining quality products, fair pricing and education to make conversations around feminine care more normal.

By engaging with customers closely, we innovate and diversify our product offerings. 

For example, Lafre’s Overnight Panties were made for women looking for greater security and comfort during heavier flow nights. We later expanded the range after receiving requests for more inclusive sizing. 

Another product, Intimate Cleansing Mousse, was launched as customers wanted Lafre to expand beyond period care into intimate care.

On top of diversifying our product offerings, we also strengthen both online and offline distribution channels.

Lafre is sold in pharmacies Watsons and Apro Pharmacy in Malaysia. While our customers are primarily in Malaysia, we have buyers from Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States among others across both online and offline channels. 

Today, our products are available through more than 2,000 retail touchpoints alongside our own e-commerce channel. 

Since launching in 2018, we have sold more than 33 million sanitary pad pieces, which has given us a large base of real consumer feedback to improve and develop our products.

AI-native platform unifies logistics and commerce operations

The platform connects merchants, warehouses, and logistics providers on a single operating layer to improve efficiency, cut costs, and reduce emissions

Go-Genie is an artificial intelligence-native logistics technology platform that helps businesses manage their logistics and commerce operations through a single system. We connect merchants, warehouses, sales channels, and logistics partners, giving businesses greater visibility over how orders move from purchase to fulfilment.

By bringing together data and workflows from different sales channels, warehouses and logistics providers across markets, we give businesses the flexibility to choose their logistics partners while making better decisions on delivery planning, consolidation, resource use and sustainability.

Our platform can help businesses cut logistics costs by up to 15 per cent while improving delivery efficiency.

Our approach is asset-light and technology-led. 

Instead of building our own large physical infrastructure, we work with existing logistics networks and use technology to connect them more effectively.

This allows us to adapt to new markets, service providers and changing customer needs, while helping logistics providers improve vehicle use, consolidate movements and reduce inefficiencies.

Businesses can also reduce carbon emissions by up to 10 per cent through route optimisation and sustainability tools. We also promote electric-vehicle adoption and greener logistics practices.

To date, we have onboarded more than 200 merchants, 20 logistics partners and 4,000 gig workers.

We see AI as both a disruption and a useful tool. We use it across three areas: algorithms, models and data. 

While algorithms and models will continue to improve and become more accessible, we believe the longer-term advantage will come from the quality and depth of the data behind them.

Because our platform works across merchants, warehouses, logistics providers and fulfilment processes, we are building our own operational data that captures information on each order, delivery, exception and operational decision.

Our AI uses this data to identify exceptions, predict issues, optimise routes and resources, recommend actions and eventually automate more operational decisions.

Developing thermal management solutions for rapidly expanding industries

These include areas in transport, logistics, telecommunications and construction

As industries such as transport, energy storage and electronics expand, at Matwerkz we specialise in materials science and develop solutions for demanding thermal management applications.

Founded as an A*star spin-off in 2020, we customise materials to help customers manage heat, improve fire safety and build more reliable and sustainable products.

One example is Thermorphous, a material designed to conduct heat during normal battery operating temperatures but transform into a heat insulator when temperatures reach levels associated with thermal runaway. This helps contain battery fires while addressing everyday thermal management needs.

Our competitive edge lies in our materials science expertise and close collaboration with designers, researchers and manufacturers. We develop materials based on specific performance requirements, processing needs and cost targets.

As part of this approach, we see artificial intelligence primarily as a tool to strengthen our capabilities. 

In research and development, we use AI to organise experimental data, identify relationships between formulations and performance, and help our scientists select promising experiments. Physical testing remains essential to validate the results.

We have also adopted an internal AI platform for technical knowledge retrieval, documentation, and routine business processes, giving our team more time for research and customer problem-solving.

The growth of AI is also increasing the need for thermal management. As computational demands rise, our Thermorphous materials can be used in more applications to help manage heat and improve safety.

AI-enabled robots for maritime maintenance solutions

Oceanis Robotics is using AI and robotics to make ship hull maintenance more efficient

As the maritime industry looks to improve efficiency, Singapore-based Oceanis Robotics is using artificial intelligence and robotics to rethink how ships’ hulls are cleaned, inspected and digitally reported.

The need for more efficient hull maintenance is driven by the impact of hull friction.

Hull friction accounts for at least 70 per cent of the energy needed to move a vessel, while heavy fouling can drain up to 40 per cent of its fuel budget. Rising fuel consumption also increases carbon-dioxide emissions per transport work, pushing vessels towards poorer energy efficiency grades and higher carbon costs.

Against this backdrop, we are using AI and robotics to make hull maintenance safer, more consistent and more transparent. 

Our AI-enabled systems combine robotic execution with real-time monitoring, inspection evidence and cleaning records, while providing clearer operational records for planning and reporting. 

By integrating these processes into an end-to-end digital workflow, we are moving hull maintenance beyond a one-off activity towards a more traceable operation. 

Over time, data collected through cleaning and inspection activities could support more informed maintenance planning and performance analysis.

Our robots are rated for hazardous zones and can operate alongside tankers and liquefied natural gas carriers without halting operations. Cleaning can also proceed alongside loading, discharge and bunkering, avoiding schedule disruptions.

As maritime operators continue to face evolving requirements, tighter sustainability expectations and changing customer priorities, we are developing our technology by testing them in real operating conditions and through customer feedback.

We are also strengthening our Singapore-based research and development, and operational learning while working with industry partners to validate and scale our solutions.

Over time, we hope to make maritime maintenance smarter, cleaner and more measurable by using robotics and data to improve the efficiency of ocean operations.