IIX, Shujog and KKR Partner with Banyan Nation to Increase the Sustainability of Indian Recycling
March 2, 2016
Enables fundraise of
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“The informal nature of the recycling value chain makes it almost
impossible for Indian brands to use recycled plastic for their product
and packaging needs,” said Mani Vajipey, Founder and CEO of Banyan. “Raj
and I decided to give up our jobs in the US and return home to
“Banyan’s aim in addressing challenges facing India’s recycling industry
by offering an alternative for household customers, suppliers, workers,
processors and buyers is consistent with Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Smart
Cities’ effort. KKR is proud to have supported Banyan to think through
its business model and obtain the funding needed to grow and scale,”
said
Banyan’s sustainable plastics recycling business closes the value chain loop by giving brands a viable alternative to virgin plastic for their product and packaging needs. Banyan manages a recycling operation that sources waste materials from aggregators, sorts and grades the plastic waste, and manages a treatment and recycling process that produces higher-quality plastic pellets with a longer life span than pellets produced by the majority of recycling companies in the country.
Banyan systematically sorts and grades the plastic waste by its resin composition and treats the material using performance polymers to increase the durability and recyclability of the plastic. This mitigates supply variability and helps the company deliver consistent quality at affordable prices. Banyan does all this while offering its employees a safe work environment and fair wages. As a registered recycling company, Banyan adheres to high environmental protection and employment standards.
“We want to enable brands to design and manufacture sustainable products
through Banyan’s responsibly recycled plastic granules that rival virgin
plastic in quality and price. Given our robust supply chain and
scientific rigor in recycling we are an ideal partner for brands that
truly value our social and environmental commitment in addition to our
superior-quality product,” said
Banyan partnered with IIX, Shujog and KKR to receive the necessary financial, analytical and operational expertise to best position the business for third party investment. Members of IIX, Shujog and KKR conducted site visits and assessed Banyan’s business model and social impact. IIX and KKR supported the development and vetting of a business plan and financial model, and brainstormed economics and scalability. Concurrently, Shujog conducted an impact assessment to help Banyan measure and monitor their social and environmental returns, and communicate these to investors.
“IIX, Shujog and KKR were instrumental in helping us realize the true economic and social impact Banyan can have on the recycling industry. Their involvement went beyond advice and raising capital – they truly helped build a sustainable business that can solve India’s plastic recycling woes. We could not have gotten as far as we have and as fast as we did without them,” said Vajipey.
A video case study on Banyan and the IIX and KKR technical assistance
project can be viewed
on
About Banyan
Banyan Nation wants to change the way people
and businesses look at plastics. Brands and consumers today perceive
plastics as an inexpensive resource that can be used and disposed, not
reckoning the many costs plastics impose on the environment and society.
We want them to recognize that the true costs of plastics – to our
cities, to our planet and to the vast number of urban wastepickers – is
high and growing, and that plastics are a dear resource that must be
reused and recycled. Our mission is to enable brands to design and
manufacture sustainable products and packaging through Banyan’s
ethically sourced, responsibly recycled granules that rival virgin
plastic in quality and price. Our goal is to empower citizens to make
sustainable choices each time they purchase a product involving plastic.
About Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX)
IIX enables
greater access to investment capital for mission-driven enterprises,
allowing them to rapidly expand the positive impact of their activities.
IIX now offers three investment platforms – Impact Accelerator™, Impact
Partners™ and Impact Exchange™. Impact Accelerator™ provides seed-stage
SEs with mentorship and private capital through a structured and
customized process. Impact Partners™ connects accredited impact
investors to selected growth-stage impact enterprises who are looking to
raise investment capital. Impact Exchange™, the world’s first social
stock exchange operated by the
For more information, visit asiaiix.com and follow us on Twitter @asiaiix and Facebook at facebook.com/asiaiix.
About Impact Investment Shujog (Shujog)
Shujog is a
non-profit based in
For more information, visit shujog.org and follow us on Twitter @shujog and Facebook at www.facebook.com/Shujog.
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that
manages investments across multiple asset classes including private
equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and hedge funds. KKR
aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient
and disciplined investment approach, employing world‐class people, and
driving growth and value creation at the asset level. KKR invests its
own capital alongside its partners’ capital and brings opportunities to
others through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s
investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For
additional information about
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301007214/en/
IIX/Shujog
rkraybill@asiaiix.com
or
jlim@shujog.org
or
KKR
steven.okun@kkr.com
or
anita.davis@kkr.com
or
Edelman
(for KKR India and
siddharth.panicker@edelman.com
or
vaishnavi.ramakrishnan@edelman.com
Source:
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