e-waste management gets a crucial fillip

Hyderabad: Circulate Capital, an investment management company headquartered in Singapore focused on preventing plastic from leakage into the ocean and promoting the circular economy, has announced that the Ocean Fund of Circulate Capital (CCOF) has made a strategic investment in city-based Rapidue Technologies (Recykal), a digital waste-commerce (w-commerce) solutions company.

Founded in collaboration with PepsiCo (its first investor), Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone, Chanel, Unilever, The Coca-Cola Group, and Chevron Phillips Chemical, CCOF is South and Southeast Asia's first global investment fund for the fight against ocean plastics.

Through an ecosystem of digital cloud-based solutions that promote clear and traceable material flows and transactions for all stakeholders, Recykal's integrated approach links waste generators with waste processors and recyclers and brand owners. Through its digital marketplace for waste, Smart Centre Solutions and EPR solution, an EPR management tool, the business enables more reliable and effective dry waste management.

More than 4,00,000 customers, over 1,000 enterprises, 500 aggregators and waste management firms, more than 100 recyclers and 30 municipalities across 25 states, union territories in India, constitute Recykal's digital footprint for waste collection and channeling. Abhay Deshpande, founder of Recykal, said on this occasion, "This investment will enable us to bring our offerings to more markets in India and put us in a good position to lead a digital revolution in the waste management and recycling industry in the country."

Commenting on the commitment, Rob Kaplan, CEO, Circulate Capital, said, "As the first company in India to create a digital waste marketplace and provide the entire waste management and recycling industry with comprehensive digital solutions, Recykal plays a key role in bringing revolutionary change to the circular economy of India through targeted solutions to specific pain points such as transpire."

To date, $39 million has been invested by Circulate Capital to form India's largest investment portfolio to tackle plastic pollution and advance the circular plastic waste economy.