Circulate Capital, focussed on incubating and financing companies that concentrate on reducing plastic waste in the ocean, has said it will invest $19 million (Rs 140 crore) in four Indian companies.
In a statement, the Singapore-based firm said the investments will be made via its Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF). The vehicle was established in partnership with global corporations including PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone, Chanel, and The Coca-Cola Company.
Companies that CCOF will invest in are – Srichakra Polyplast India Pvt Ltd, Rapidue Technologies Pvt Ltd, Deeya Panel Products Pvt Ltd, and Dalmia Polypro Industries Pvt Ltd.
Circulate Capital says it has already invested in two companies – Lucro Plastecycle and Nepra Resources Management. The firm says these investments form a part of its commitment to dedicating half of the CCOF’s corpus worth $106 million to the waste management and recycling industry in India.
“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,” Circulate Capital founder and CEO Rob Kaplan said.
“Combined, they will directly create over 6,600 safe, stable and dignified jobs while preventing five million metric tonnes of plastic pollution from entering the environment by 2030,” he added.
Srichakra is a plastic recycling and waste management company based in Hyderabad that specialises in offering recycled products in bulk to the packaging industry.
Hyderabad-based Rapidue operates Recykal, which is an end-to-end digital solutions provider for stakeholders across India’s waste management and recycling value chain. Its platform connects waste generators, processors and other players in the segment to address issues such as demand-supply mismatch.
Deeya Panel Products operates Gujarat-based Ricron. The company says it specialises in converting low-value multi-layer plastic waste into high quality eco-friendly materials for furniture, housing, roofing, and construction.
Dalmia Polypro is based in Mumbai and is a sustainability-focussed plastic recycling company. It recycles locally-sourced PET (polyethelyne terephthelate) and a polyolefin variety into materials required by apparel brands, as well as consumer and industrial packaging manufacturers.
