Creating Larger Value and Impact in Africa’s Recycled Plastic Economy

Ivory Coast-based startup Coliba, which has developed a recycling and waste management platform, has raised funding from German firm GreenTec Capital Partners, which will also provide the company with hands-on assistance to help it scale. Coliba has developed a waste management web and mobile application that connects households and businesses with affiliated plastic waste collectors. The startup applies the principles of the circular economy to tackle the problem of plastic waste in Ivory Coast, allowing users to earn airtime or discounts on certain products by recycling. Its app tracks a user’s bottle collection progress and efficiently dispatches agents for collection. Having raised equity funding from the newly-launched Dakar Network Angels last year, and grant cash from the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator in 2018, the startup is no stranger to fundraising, and has now banked further investment from the Frankfurt-based GreenTec Capital. GreenTec, which makes small investments in African tech startups but says its real value-add comes from its “company-building” model, has invested in a host of African startups, including Kenyan AI startup SuperFluid Labs, Nigerian logistics startup Parcel-it, Kenyan insurtech platform Bismart, Zambian energy company WidEnergy, and, most recently, Moroccan recruitment service KWIKS.

SOURCE: DISRUPT AFRICA