IDB Lab partners with Circulate Capital to combat ocean-bound plastics in Latin America and the Caribbean

October 25, 2021

October 25, 2021 – The innovation lab for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, IDB Lab, announces a USD$4 million investment commitment, along with an additional technical cooperation grant of $500,000, to support innovative solutions to tackle the growing problem of plastic waste ending up in the oceans and waterways of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

This circular economy investment will be combined with a capacity development program specifically for the Caribbean region, that would enhance the building of a potential investment pipeline in the Caribbean, through the support of regional innovation ecosystem actors.

The investment will be managed by Circulate Capital, the investment management company focused on preventing ocean plastic and advancing the circular economy which has also managed the US$106 million Circulate Capital Ocean Fund targeted to prevent ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia since 2019 and has been backed by leading global corporations including PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone, Chanel, Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC.

There are an estimated 150 million tons of plastic in the ocean today, growing by approximately 8 to 11 million tons a year, which is equivalent to a garbage truck of plastic unloading in the sea every minute.

A significant amount of plastic waste pollution leaks from the LAC region due to a lack of circular recycling systems, capital, and technical assistance in the sector. LAC generated 12% of the total global waste, just below East Asia and the Pacific, with ten of the top thirty global plastic polluters per capita hailing from the Caribbean region. However, only 4.5 percent of the waste was recycled, significantly below the world average of 13.5 percent.

“IDB Lab is honored to be a pioneer in committing capital to finance innovations that help to reduce plastic waste in the region through early-stage startups and SMEs. This initiative is an example of how IDB Lab can work together with the private sector to leverage funding from corporates to contribute to SDGs, emissions reductions, the circular economy, and a green recovery”, said Irene Arias-Hofman, CEO of IDB Lab.

The strategy will be focusing on investing primarily in early-stage start-ups and SMEs (Series A and B), promoting a plastic circular economy, and catalyzing investment from institutional investors at scale. The target is to fund systemic solutions that rethink and manage waste. The idea is to invest capital into companies that develop scalable solutions from innovative materials, reducing waste, to waste management infrastructure, such as collection, sorting, processing, recycling, and manufacturing.

Leveraging the learnings of our work in South and Southeast Asia, we’re excited to partner with IDB Lab to catalyze capital to fight plastic pollution and advance the circular economy in Latin America and the Caribbean”, said Rob Kaplan, founder and CEO of Circulate Capital.

Beyond financing, the portfolio companies will get strategic support through strategic partnerships; training to improve communications, marketing, and sales, and skills development, including digitization efforts. Collectively, this support will establish a higher standard of operations, as well as provide a robust mechanism for measuring impact.

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Srichakra Polyplast Commissions India’s First Food-Grade Plastic Recycling Facility

September 24, 2021

US$10 Million invested in world-class technology to upgrade and expand recycling capabilities

Srichakra Polyplast (Srichakra), a leading plastic recycling and waste management company, today announced the official commissioning of its upgraded facility, the first of its kind in India to produce food-grade quality recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pellets. The company has also commissioned its new polyolefins recycling facility which can produce deodorized bottle-to-bottle grade quality polyolefin pellets. The company has invested more than US$10 million to strengthen its recycling capabilities, which allow it to offer the highest grade of recycled plastic to customers in India and global markets such as Europe and the United States.

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Circulate Capital Announces First Close of New Climate Tech Fund

June 22, 2021

Circulate Capital Disrupt will Invest in Innovations in Materials and Deep Technology Solutions to Combat Plastic Waste and Advance the Circular Economy

Circulate Capital, the Singapore-based investment management firm financing high growth opportunities at the nexus of climate-tech and plastics, recycling and the circular economy, today announced a $14 million first close of its new venture capital fund. Circulate Capital Disrupt (CCD), a companion strategy to the $106 million Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF I) launched in October 2019, will invest in targeted innovations in materials and deep technology solutions to combat plastic waste and advance the circular economy. In addition, CCD will participate in select, high growth investment opportunities across the waste management and recycling value chain in South and Southeast Asia alongside CCOF I that prevent plastic pollution by the tons and have a climate impact.

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Circulate Capital Identified as an Emerging Impact Manager to Watch on the ImpactAssets 50 (IA50) Global List

February 15, 2021

See the article here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/impactassets_impactassets-50-2022-activity-6909499191438282752-08Js/

Circulate Capital invests to scale India’s circular economy for plastic waste – offers powerful blueprint to build back stronger 

December 15, 2020

Circulate Capital Invests to Scale India’s Circular Economy for Plastic Waste – Offers Powerful Blueprint to Build Back Stronger

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

CCOF’s new portfolio companies are leading waste management and recycling companies that are disrupting the value chain in India.

​In concert, this portfolio aims to materially improve the industry by driving scale to address key systemic gaps and pain points within the waste 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
  • Scaling digitization
  • Scaling collection and sorting in collaboration with cities

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Major plastic recycler, Dalmia Polypro Industries (Dalmia), receives funding from Circulate Capital to strengthen India’s circular economy

December 10, 2020

With the fund infusion, Dalmia, whose high-quality products are used by global fashion and leading consumer brands, aims to triple its recycling capacity by 2025

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Circulate Capital and Aavishkaar Capital invest US$18 million in Nepra Resource management, India’s largest dry waste management company

November 15, 2020

Nepra to expand capacity and geographic expansion to manage dry waste across the country, supporting local communities, cleaning up cities and protecting the environment

Aavishkaar Capital, the Impact Investing arm of the Aavishkaar Group, and Circulate Capital, an investment management firm dedicated to financing companies that prevent ocean plastic and advance the circular economy, have announced investments totaling US$ 18 Million in Series C Funding into Nepra Resource Management Private Limited (Nepra), India’s leading dry waste management company. Existing investor Aavishkaar Capital undertook a partial exit from its earlier fund, which had first invested in 2013 in the company, as a part of this round. Operating under the brand ‘Let’s Recycle’, Nepra has a unique model that focuses on dry waste recovery and recycling.

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Circulate Capital announces inaugural investments that will help South and Southeast Asian SMEs to combat ocean plastic and weather the COVID-19 crisis

April 15, 2020

Invests US$6 million in two companies in India and Indonesia that recycle local plastic waste into useful products Investments in waste management value chains as essential services are critical to protecting local communities’ health and livelihoods

Circulate Capital, the Singapore-based investment management company focused on advancing the circular economy, today announced that the Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF), the world’s first investment fund dedicated to the ocean plastic crisis in South and Southeast Asia, has made its inaugural investments in two plastic recycling companies located in India and Indonesia for a total investment of US$6 million.

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Circulate Capital closes US $106M Fund to Protect Asia’s Ocean from Plastic

December 4, 2019

World’s first investment fund dedicated to preventing ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia

Biggest investment capital committed towards Asia’s ocean plastic crisis

First investments targeted in Asia by early 2020

Circulate Capital, the investment management firm dedicated to incubating and financing companies and infrastructure that prevent ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA), today announced the first close of the US$106 million Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF). It is the world’s first investment fund dedicated to address Asia’s plastic crisis and is also one of the ten largest ASEAN-based Venture Capital Funds in the market. CCOF’s founding investors are among the world’s leading companies, including PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), the first investor, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Dow (NYSE: DOW), Danone (EPA: BN), Unilever (NYSE: UN), The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC.

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Incubate, Measure and Amplify: The Circulate Initiative Launches Strategy to End Plastic Pollution and Build Thriving Circular Economies

October 15, 2019

Incubate, Measure and Amplify: The Circulate Initiative Launches Strategy to End Plastic Pollution and Build Thriving Circular Economies

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Circulate Capital Announces Additional US$15 Million in Expected Funding To Combat Ocean Plastic in South and Southeast Asia

October 15, 2019

Chevron Phillips Chemical Will Join Circulate Capital’s Founding Corporate Investors to Fund Solutions in South and Southeast Asia

Circulate Capital, the investment management firm dedicated to incubating and financing companies and infrastructure that seek to prevent ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA), today announced that it expects to receive an additional US$15 million in funding from Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC for Circulate Capital’s strategy to combat ocean plastic. The company joins Circulate Capital’s founding investors which include several of the world’s leading consumer packaged goods and chemical companies. Circulate Capital announced the launch of its fund in the fall of 2018, and expects to make its first investment by the end of 2019.

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Circulate Capital, USAID and Ocean Conservancy Announce Blended Finance Partnership to Combat Ocean Plastic Pollution

June 5, 2019

USAID will guarantee up to $35 million of loans made by Circulate Capital to incentivize private capital investment and advance development objectives in the recycling value chain in South and Southeast Asia

Circulate Capital, the investment management firm dedicated to incubating and financing companies and infrastructure that prevent ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA), today announced a blended finance partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to combat ocean plastic pollution. Through this new agreement, USAID will provide up to a $35 million, 50% loan-portfolio guarantee through the Development Credit Authority (DCA) to incentivize private capital investment and new business development in the recycling value chain in South and Southeast Asia.

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