Chennai, NFAPost: Aavishkaar Capital, the Impact Investing arm of the Aavishkaar Group, and Circulate Capital, have announced investments totaling $ 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.
Nepra is the largest collector and processor of dry waste in India, partnering with more than 1,700 waste pickers and collectors to process over 500 tons per day (tpd) of waste across Ahmedabad, Indore and Pune. It has improved the lives of more than 5,000 people from the base of the waste pyramid over eight years. The company will utilise the fresh investment to further expand its geographic footprint and scale its operations.
Aavishkaar Capital Partner Anurag Agrawal said, “Nepra is a unique story in the country that has grown many-fold from the time we made our first investment in 2013 when the company had ideated the concept and epitomises our philosophy of how scale, sustainability and impact can go hand in hand.”
“The success of Nepra’s model has led us to regularly invest across all their rounds and partner them in their journey to take their unique solid waste management solutions pan-India,” he added.
Commenting on the firm’s investment, Circulate Capital Founder and CEO Rob Kaplan, added,“At a time when communities need economic opportunities more than ever, Nepra is poised to scale its unique model of turning plastic pollution from a scourge into a resource for job creation and a thriving circular economy. With this investment, we see tremendous opportunity to disrupt the waste management and recycling value chain while creating financial, environmental and social value. Alongside our corporate investors, we look forward to supporting Nepra’s expansion and scaling their impact across the country.”
The waste issue in India is significant, with 62 million metric tons of municipal waste generated annually. Though India collects approximately 90% of the waste generated, 80% of this goes into open landfills or the environment. There is an opportunity to reduce the amount of waste that leaks into the environment by investing in the highly fragmented waste management and recycling industry.
NEPRA Co-Founder & CEO Sandeep Patel said, “We aim to utilise this Series C funding to further expand our operations nationally and strengthen our capacity to cater to the growing needs of cities for dry waste management solutions.”
“Our ability to work closely with municipalities to organise dry waste collection, improve revenues for the informal sector, and ensure quality feedstock for recyclers, has seen our systems become indispensable and improve efficiency along the entire value chain,” he added.
By combining a people-centric approach with technology-driven processes and solid infrastructure, Nepra offers an integrated, efficient and scalable waste management solution that connects all stakeholders along the value chain, from municipalities to informal waste pickers, as well as recyclers and brand owners.
