Singapore's Circulate Capital makes debut investments

Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF) has committed a combined $6 million to Mumbai-based Lucro Plastecycle and Jakarta-based Tridi Oasis. CCOF, which reached a first close last year of $106 million, is said to be the first investment fund dedicated to ocean plastic pollution in South and Southeast Asia.

"If the current health and economic crisis has taught us anything, it's that we need to future proof our local supply chains and economies," Rob Kaplan, CEO of Circulate, said in a statement. "The resilience of critical infrastructure like waste and recycling goes hand-in-hand with protecting the health and livelihoods of our communities." 

Lucro manufactures flexible plastic products such as shrink wrap and films by recycling similar materials, which are often difficult to collect and sort, through a trademarked process. Output is resold as granules to other manufacturers. The company has 200 customers and claims to have grown 100-fold in the past eight years.

Tridi Oasis specializes in recycling bottles made of PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, into resin pellets known as rPET flakes that are used to make packaging materials and textiles. The company plans to diversify its product portfolio and grow its customer base by partnering with international and local manufacturers, including Circulate's investors.

LPs in CCOF include PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone, Unilever, Coca-Cola, and Chevron Phillips Chemical. Circulate backs waste management, recycling and circular economy start-ups and small to medium-sized enterprises focused on preventing plastic pollution and advancing the circular economy. It has identified more than 200 potential investments across a range of industries in South and Southeast Asia. 

The firm offers a blend of debt and equity funding as part of its efforts to support companies struggling with the COVID-19 downturn. This includes a loan of unspecified size to Tridi Oasis that is s 50% guaranteed by the US International Development Finance Corporation in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development.

The UN Environment Program has urged governments to treat waste management as an essential public service to minimize health risks as well as environmental impacts.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Cleantech
• Industrials
• Early-stage
• India
• Indonesia
• manufacturing
• Circulate Capital