INDIAN ANGEL NETWORK INVESTS IN SAAHAS WASTE MANAGEMENT, A SOCIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT ENTERPRISE
IAN investor member, Mr. Nagaraja Prakasam has led this round of investment and will join the board of the company. Upaya Social Ventures also joins this round.
IIMB case study on Saahas in Harvard | 4 of my portfolio demonstrating circular economy | Saahas raises series A
Saahas has come in at a time when the entire country is inclined towards driving a national movement, “Swacch Bharat Abhiyan”. Hence, it has become imperative to support innovative concepts that can contribute toward the betterment of the society and country at large. Saahas focuses on Organic Waste Management along with collection and recycling of packaging waste and e-waste. The not-for-profit concentrates on building capacities of public institutions like the Municipal Corporation along with supporting progressive policies around waste management.
Mr. Nagaraja Prakasam, lead IAN investor commented on the company’s growth strategy saying, “Wilma Rodrigues is a veteran in the ecosystem and deeply believes in the cause, since 2001. Saahas pioneered the zero waste campus very well with triple bottom-line focus and they have successfully accomplished to deliver onsite waste management services to bulk waste generators.
Planet: Most of Bangalore’s 5000 tons of daily waste ends in landfill that affects livelihood of people around the landfill; not properly disposed waste contaminates water bodies. By segregating at source and recycling most of
it, it is addressing this in a unique way.
People: employing 200+ waste pickers in campuses providing them dignity.
Profit: By outsourcing their waste management to Saahas, bulk generators achieve zero waste campus status and a step towards social responsibility and goodwill. IAN Impact was launched in 2013 to support ventures works on triple bottom-line like Saahas.
At IAN, we also focus on social economic development and encouraging growth of social enterprises, which are working toward creating better life for people. As an active IAN impact angel, Naga has lead 4 other deals and serves in their board – Uniphore (raised series A), GoCoOp (raising series A), Freshworld, Solaron (exited) with a totally of 12 investments through IAN including Gramvaani, Consure, etc.
Saahas works with a range of bulk waste generators including corporate offices, apartment complexes and educational institutions to offer integrated solutions to managing waste close to the point of generation.
Wilma Rodrigues, Founder of Saahas said, “IAN’s investment will be used to scale up the project by hiring key senior members in the team. Moving ahead, we expect to expand from a current 20 tonnes per day to 80 tonnes per day (TPD) in the next 3-5 years. Saahas is well placed to implement complete waste management solutions that have the potential to contribute towards creating a Swachh Bharat. To achieve our objective of being a part of the national movement of creating clean India, we will also be looking to introduce simple technology that will enhance efficiency in our waste management processes as we continue to provide safe livelihood options to a large number of people. “
Saahas is an aggregator of e-waste and packaging waste, which enables a reverse logistics system whereby producers of this waste can fulfill their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), as an aggregator. The company currently manages 20 tonnes of organic and recyclable waste per day across 30 locations in Bangalore and Chennai. Saahas has focused on “reducing waste” with a belief that waste is a precious source and needs to be managed efficiently.
“Saahas pioneered the zero waste campus very well with triple bottom-line focus and they have successfully accomplished to deliver onsite waste management services to bulk waste generators,” said Nagaraja Prakasam, the lead IAN investor for this transaction.
Prakasam will also join the venture’s board. According to the press release, the investor, who focuses on investing in social impact ventures, has led multiple investments in the broader impact investment space, including, Uniphore, Go .. [Read more]
“Saahas is well placed to implement complete waste management solutions. We will also be looking to introduce simple technology that will enhance efficiency in our waste management processes,”said Wilma Rodrigues, founder of Saahas.
The funds will be deployed to expand its team as well as increase its capacity to 80 tonnes per day in the next three to five years, Rodrigues said.
Saahas has successfully delivered onsite waste management services to bulk waste generators, said IAN’s Prakasam, who also serves on the board of companies such as Uniphore, GoCoOp, Freshworld and Solaron. [Read More]