Saahas Waste Management Pvt. Ltd, which operates as Saahas Zero Waste, has raised fresh funding of Rs 6 crore ($868,600) in a round led by new investor C4D Partners.
The Indian Angel Network and impact investors Artha Ventures and Asha Impact also participated in the funding round, the IAN said in a statement.
The IAN was the first investor in Saahas, having backed it in 2015. Artha Ventures had first invested in the company in 2017, according to filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Asha Impact is a new investor in the company.
Bengaluru-based Saahas will use the capital to improve collection and aggregation of all types of non-biodegradable waste.
The startup was founded in 2013 by Wilma Rodriques. It focuses on decentralised waste management processes and provides professional services to all waste generators, including companies, apartment complexes and institutions. The company, which has a presence in the south and west India, manages 45 tonnes of waste per day. It has 248 employees, out of which 60% are women.
C4D Partners will also participate in the next funding rounds of the company, managing partner Arvind Agarwal said.
In the waste management segment, private equity giant KKR had agreed to acquire a 60% stake in Hyderabad-based Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd for $530 million in August last year.
Investors
C4D Partners is an initiative of the Netherlands-headquartered global non-profit ICCO Cooperative, which works in over 40 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, according to its website. Its objective is to finance and invest in growing and inclusive small and medium enterprises that create social and environmental impact.
Last year, the Dutch impact investor backed Hyderabad-based rooftop solar firm Freyr Energy Services Pvt. Ltd.
Asha Impact was founded by Vikram Gandhi, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a senior adviser at Canadian pension fund CPPIB, and Pramod Bhasin, former chief executive officer of IT services major Genpact, in 2014.
The fund represents a clutch of high-net-worth investors who directly make investments under its banner. Last year, it had participated in the Series B funding round of Nepra Resource Management Pvt. Ltd, a waste management company that operates under the ‘Let’s Recycle’ brand.
