UK-based development finance institution (DFI) British International Investment (BII) has approved a $7-million investment commitment in Circulate Capital Ocean Fund I-B, the Asia-focused circular economy vehicle of Singapore’s Circulate Capital.
BII’s commitment brings the climate tech fund’s total amount raised in its final close to $73 million and Circulate Capital’s total assets under management to $255 million.
Aside from BII, other DFIs that have committed to the fund include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Proparco, a subsidiary of the French AFD Group.
Circulate Capital Ocean Fund I-B, along with the $112 million Circulate Capital Ocean Fund I, invests in companies across the plastic-recycling and waste-management value chains, as well as startups focused on early-stage disruptive innovation and technology.
The fund estimates that by 2030, its current portfolio in India will prevent 5 million metric tonnes of plastic pollution from entering the environment, which is almost half of the annual plastic waste generated in India.
Additionally, this will help avoid 6.9m tonne greenhouse gas emissions, which is equal to the emissions from 1.5 million cars a year.
Circulate Capital’s CEO and founder Rob Kaplan said the firm’s climate tech strategy has already invested in four enterprises in the climate tech and circular innovation sectors.
“We will continue to identify and add innovators in this space to our portfolio as well as for our flagship strategy of investing in recycling infrastructure in the South and Southeast Asia region,” Kaplan said.
The commitment will inject investment to help solve an issue that is particularly pressing in the region – plastic waste management, said British High Commissioner to Singapore Kara Owen.
“This UK Government funding is indicative of the strength of the UK commitment to the Indo-Pacific and our innovative approach to tackling global challenges and development,” Owen added.
BII director and head of Asia Srini Nagarajan said Circulate Capital, through funding innovative circulate economy solutions, has already prevented about 150,000-tonne plastic pollution leakage, reduced or avoided GHG emissions of about 227,000 tonne, and managed or recycled a total waste of about 1.2 million tonne.
Circulate Capital is an investment management firm dedicated to the development of a circular economy to combat plastic pollution through investments in high-growth opportunities at the nexus of climate-tech and plastics recycling infrastructure.
In 2019, Circulate launched its debut fund, the world’s first investment fund dedicated to preventing ocean plastic waste in South and Southeast Asia.