Circulate Capital Invests to Scale IndiaCircular Economy for Plastic Waste – Offers Powerful Blueprint to Build Back Stronger

• • In partnership with PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone, Chanel, Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, and Chevron Phillips Chemical, the firm has now committed US$39 million across the waste management and recycling value chain in India

• • The six investee companies now form the largest investment portfolio focused on fighting plastic pollution in India

Circulate Capital, the Singapore-based investment management company focused on preventing plastic from leaking into the ocean and advancing the circular economy,  today announced that the Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF) has committed to invest US$19 million in four leading companies that are using technology and innovation to scale and transform India’s waste management and recycling value chain. Established in partnership with PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone, Chanel, Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, and Chevron Phillips Chemical, CCOF is the world’s first investment fund dedicated to combat ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia.

Today’s commitments to Srichakra Polyplast (Srichakra), Rapidue Technologies (Recykal), Deeya Panel Products (Ricron) and Dalmia Polypro Industries (Dalmia) combined with previously announced investments in Lucro Plastecycle (Lucro) and Nepra Resources Management (Nepra) will see more than US$39 million invested in India. This also forms part of Circulate Capital’s commitment to dedicating half of CCOF’s US$106 million of capital to the waste management and recycling industry in India.

Scaling and transforming India’s waste management and recycling value chain with catalytic capital

In concert, the portfolio aims to materially improve the local industry by driving scale to address key systemic gaps and pain points within the ecosystem, such as fragmentation, lack of traceability and low quality of recycled materials through three key innovation strategies – scaling upcycling to transform waste into value (Lucro Plastecycle, Srichakra Polyplast, Ricron, Dalmia Polypro); scaling digitization (Recykal); and, scaling collection and sorting through collaboration with cities (Nepra Resource Management) – the portfolio will transform the country’s waste management and recycling value chain.

Ravindra Venkata, Co-founder and CEO, Srichakra Polyplast (Hyderabad), said, “In 2010, we pioneered the plastic recycling process in India and with Circulate Capital’s support we aim to enhance our offering by producing larger quantities of recycled material to higher specifications that allow for new product applications, including food-grade packaging, in the future.”

Abhay Deshpande, Founder, Recykal (Hyderabad), said, “We are proud to be India’s first “waste-commerce” company, transforming the waste management and recycling industry and setting new standards through digital solutions. We believe that by connecting players that would have otherwise not known each other, we can enable an efficient and effective industry, and transparent and traceable transactions between all stakeholders. Our partnership with Circulate Capital will see our offering reach more markets and build a complete digital ecosystem.”

Commenting on the long-term opportunity, Rahul Chaudhary, Co-founder and CEO, Ricron (Ankleshwar), said, “At Ricron we recognize the blue ocean opportunity to capture the value of difficult to manage, multi-layer plastic waste. This drove us to spearhead innovation to upcycle this waste into high quality, eco-friendly materials for the building industry. Our efforts will help manage continued waste plastic generation and solve the growing housing and infrastructure demands of today.”

Commenting on Circulate Capital’s investment, Aditya Dalmia, Managing Director, Dalmia Polypro (Mumbai), said, “As a major PET recycler in India, a focus on innovation and technology underpins our ability to deliver consistent and reliable recycled materials for customers and places us ahead of the curve in developing food-grade applications in the country.”

Portfolio to drive maximum environmental, social and economic impact

Through the collective effort of CCOF’s portfolio companies, 5 million metric tonnes of plastic pollution will be prevented from entering the environment by 2030, which is the equivalent to nearly half the amount of plastic waste India generates in a year. As a result, 6.9 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions will be avoided, the equivalent of one year emissions from 1.5 million cars.

In addition to creating new jobs, the investments also ensure increased access to digital modes of payment and banking, and equitable and inclusive opportunities for locals to participate in the waste management and recycling value chain regardless of gender, role and position in society.

Commenting on CCOF’s latest investments, Rob Kaplan, CEO and Founder, Circulate Capital said, “At a time of tremendous uncertainty, the six companies in our India portfolio are positioned to help the country build back sustainably and transform from a linear to circular economy. Combined, they will directly create over 6,600 safe, stable and dignified jobs while preventing 5 million metric tonnes of plastic pollution from entering the environment by 2030. Supported by the Swachh Bharat Mission and strong demand from brand owners, India is well placed to provide a blueprint for leveraging plastic circularity to improve livelihoods and build back better globally.”

The catalytic capital provided through CCOF’s investments will fund capacity expansion to help the portfolio companies embark on their next stage of growth. In addition to financing, Circulate Capital provides mentorship, technical expertise as well as introductions to its network of partners along the value chain so that they can thrive for the long term.

The CCOF’s portfolio includes seven companies in the waste management and recycling industry, with six in India and one in Indonesia.

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