IT WAS A weekend in 2016 when Rahul Nainani and Gurashish Singh decided to attend the Google Startup Weekend in Mumbai. The event proved to be a turning point of their careers by giving them a business idea—a clean-tech start-up providing waste management solutions. Nainani, who holds a finance degree and Singh, working in real estate sector, wanted to offer much more than plastic waste management. With the motto of ‘Circular Economy and Circular Solutions,’ they wanted to build a traceable reverse supply chain for all types of waste. “The idea is to build an inclusive business model as we close the loop on plastics,” says Nainani.
ReCircle has a presence in more than 270 cities and towns and 400 collection partners. It has also partnered with big FMCG brands such as Hindustan Unilever, Dabur, Coca Cola, Marico, Nestle and Starbucks India. It helps these brands offset their plastic footprint by providing them plastic credits. Plastic credit is among its main sources of revenue. The second source of revenue is partnerships with international organisations for capacity building and plastic waste recovery. In FY23, the profit was INR 2.45 crore, INR 1.77 crore more than in FY22. ReCircle, which has raised a pre series A round from Flipkart Ventures, 3i Partners and Acumen Fund Inc. also plans to work on new waste supply chains such as textiles, glass and paper waste. — Astha Oriel