Reckitt Unveils "Catalyst"

CANNES, FRANCE, 17 JUNE 2025 - Reckitt, the company behind some of the world’s best-loved consumer health and hygiene brands, has launched a global initiative, Reckitt Catalyst, to support and scale up to 200 health and hygiene start-ups founded by women and under-represented entrepreneurs – fueling solutions that will improve access to health and hygiene for five million people.   

Reckitt Catalyst is a five-year, up to £10m commitment to provide funding, mentorship and expertise from Reckitt leaders and Serena Williams, to allow innovative businesses to scale rapidly and help solve essential hygiene and healthcare challenges in communities across the world. In partnership with Yunus Social Innovation, Acumen America, and Health Innovation Exchange (HIEX), Reckitt is scaling its existing commitment to support up to 200 founders over the next five years, in more than 15 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.  

Supporting women in health and hygiene innovation represents a huge economic opportunity. Women-led start-ups deliver 35% better returns and create six times more jobs than those run by men, but still only receive 2% of venture capital funding globally.   

As a successful entrepreneur and impact investor, Serena Williams is Reckitt’s first Entrepreneur-in-Residence and will play an essential role in mentoring and supporting women leading these ventures. Williams and Reckitt announced an open call at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, encouraging women-led businesses around the world to apply for a seat as one of Reckitt Catalyst's entrepreneurs, by visiting Reckitt.com.

“Some of the world’s most pressing healthcare challenges can be solved by bold, innovative ideas - if they are given the right support to thrive and scale. This includes mentorship, funding and unwavering belief,” said Serena Williams. “I’m honored to offer that as Reckitt’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence and excited to share what I’ve learned in both business and sport to help visionary ventures grow.”  

Reckitt Catalyst builds on Reckitt’s ongoing work to further strengthen its social impact projects around the world with flexible funding and expert mentorship. Since 2020, the company has supported 60 entrepreneurs across 13 countries, helping unlock access to health, clean water and sanitation for one million people.  

Focus on Entrepreneurs   

Attending the global call for entries at Cannes were several of Reckitt’s entrepreneurs who spoke about the power of these support systems, including Nida Sheikh, CEO and co-founder of Tayaba. To date, Tayaba, has delivered half a billion liters of clean water in Pakistan by deploying solar-powered water facilities, water rollers, and now, an H2O Air machine, which converts humidity into 25 liters of clean drinking water a day.