![]() ![]() TNC will continue to run, although a successor to Ward as CEO has not yet been identified. “What people talk about here is still not reflected in their buying decisions,” he said. Rising costs, a resistance to raising prices from retailers, and muted interest in sustainable products among Singapore consumers has made keeping TNC going challenging, Ward told Eco-Business. But we just couldn’t raise sufficient working capital,” he said. ![]() Building a real company is a game of patience. We’ve tried to make the business asset-light by going for a licensing model. ![]() “Building camels rather than unicorns takes time. The investment community has prioritised funding technology-based solutions, such as climate tech and carbon measurement, rather than “real” products such as sustainable consumer goods, Ward commented. “We were growing but didn’t have the funds to grow further,” he said of his company, which sells brands including Bambaloo toilet tissue and sanitary solution Wipeless, marketed as “tree-free, one time use plastic-free, earth-friendly daily use essentials.” TNC has established licensee partners in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand this year, and has been in discussions with potential licensees in India and Taiwan, but has not been able to secure investment for future growth. Ward said that he had not been taking a salary and has been drawing from his personal savings to keep the business going. The Briton told Eco-Business that he had been unable to attract investment to scale TNC and the company’s licensing model, introduced to reduce costs, had not been generating sufficient cashflow. Ward, who lives in Malaysia, said he is seeking “immediate” paid work elsewhere, in a business-building role in the sustainability sector. Asia’s investment community has prioritised funding technology-based solutions over “real” products such as sustainable consumer goods, says the departing founder of struggling bamboo tissue business The Nurturing Co. ![]()
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