During the 2025 AMNC, Givo, an UpLink Venture that powers sustainable jobs in underserved communities through solar-powered recycling hubs and data-driven technology, connected with research teams from Johns Hopkins University and Rice University to explore community behaviour and recycling impact. These discussions quickly progressed, and the parties soon formalized their partnership. UpLink's Engagement Profile helped Givo advance circularity and community-driven initiatives, facilitating introductions and knowledge exchange. Case study 9 Givo forms an academic and research partnership to advance recycling impact Building on this momentum, 65% of ventures reported expanding into new markets over the past year, reaching cities such as Lima, Tokyo, Sidney, Santiago, San Francisco, Nairobi, Mumbai, Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, New York and Bengaluru, among others. Depending on their business models, the majority of ventures now have paying customers, with 81% of those reporting customer base growth in the past 12 months. Around 32% of ventures attribute their growth to UpLink’s support, citing increased visibility, strengthened reputation through affiliation with UpLink and the World Economic Forum, and connections made through curated events and introductions.More than half of ventures (60%) have now reached technology readiness level (TRL) 9 (scaling stage),14 signalling that their solutions are entering the scaling phase, positioning them for expanded market reach and customer acquisition. Around 73% of ventures have advanced to a new product stage in the past 12 months. Through its participation in the Malaysia Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution – a global network of centres supported by the Forum – the Surpluss not only secured the competition’s top recognition but also forged a strategic partnership with Maybank. This collaboration, focused on advancing sustainability across Maybank’s small and medium- sized enterprise (SME) ecosystem, has enabled the Surpluss to establish a strong distribution pipeline and expand into two new markets. By harnessing Maybank’s extensive regional network and commitment to sustainable business transformation, the Surpluss is scaling its circular economy platform to help businesses reduce waste, optimize resources and accelerate their journey towards net-zero operations.Case study 10 The Surpluss expands regional reach through recognition and partnerships In the past 12 months, 80% of ventures reported entering new commercial or R&D partnerships. These partnerships span five key areas: joint ventures and distribution agreements, R&D alliances, public-private and government collaborations, corporate pilot projects and academic or non-profit partnerships, illustrating the diversity of engagement models fuelling venture growth. Through these relationships, ventures are scaling manufacturing, piloting solutions in new markets, co- developing technologies and validating impact through applied research. Uplink Annual Impact Report March 2026 23

UpLink Annual Impact Report 2026