Plastic waste as a business opportunity 
in Asia & Latin America with Ellen Martin from Circulate Capital | Venture Capital

Ocean plastics are a danger to the environment and humans. Cleaning it up and avoiding it from happening is a business opportunity, though.

In this episode, Ellen Martin, Chief Impact Officer at Circulate Capital, presents how the circular startups in their portfolio tackle the plastics crisis while running profitable businesses. With venture capital investments in Asia and Latin America, Ellen highlights commonalities and differences of markets in these continents. She illustrates the dependency of circular business models on local circumstances.

This episode is part of VC for Circularity - the Venture Capital Perspective on Circular Economy Startups.

People
Ellen Martin, Chief Impact Officer at Circulate Capital
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenmartinsf/

Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/

Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:23 Getting to Know Ellen Martin
02:56 Start with corporate investors
05:34 The investment focus on plastic circularity
07:56 Assessment of Circular and Social Impact as part of the Due Diligence
13:37 Integrating circular impact and commercial success
18:21 Balancing local feedstock supply and international scale
19:54 Reasons for starting in Asia
23:29 The relevance of vertically integrated models
24:44 The challenges of technology transfer to emerging markets
26:09 Scaling potential of different business models
29:00 Having an impact and building a business simultaneously
29:39 Undervalued companies, the role of regulation and local for local ecosystems

About
Circulate Capital is a leading circular economy investment management firm in high-growth markets.

Circulate Capital partners with global brands and institutional investors to invest into solutions that catalyze systems change across the globe. The financing transforms circular plastic supply chains at scale, delivering competitive financial returns and positive impact.

Further Links
https://www.circulatecapital.com/

Calculator:
https://www.thecirculateinitiative.org/plastic-lifecycle-assessment-calculator-for-the-environment-and-society/

Portfolio companies:
https://www.tridi-oasis.com/
https://www.lucro.in/
https://www.preventedoceanplastic.com/
https://www.earthodic.com/

One-page Summary
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