DOB Equity, a Dutch investor in East Africa, and London-based Global Innovation Fund (GIF), in partnership with the consumer brands company Unilever, have invested in Mr. Green Africa, a Kenya-based plastics recycler.

 

Mr. Green Africa purchases polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP), and also old corrugated containers (OCC). 

 

The investment will allow Mr. Green Africa to boost and build on its aggregation model that allows it to scale the trade of recyclables while building a strong and reliable supplier network.

It will lead to expand processing capacity to produce higher value recycled products in larger volumes to supply consumer goods companies, DOB Equity says.

 

Co-founder and CEO of Mr. Green Africa, Keiran Smith, says, “We are very pleased and looking forward to working with DOB Equity and Global Innovation Fund on the expansion of Mr. Green Africa. We believe we are in the right place, at the right time, to create a blueprint for emerging markets to provide a circular solution to the plastic challenge and need partners like DOB Equity and Global Innovation Fund that see this opportunity.”

 

Brigit van Dijk – van de Reijt, CEO of DOB Equity, says, “DOB Equity is keen to support companies focusing on waste reduction and recycling and Mr. Green Africa is DOBs’ second investment in the sector following a recent investment in Zanrec, https://www.zanrec.com/ a waste management company on Zanzibar (Tanzania).”

 

“This is a great investment for GIF – an innovative business with demonstrable returns in terms of financial and social impact,” says Alix Zwane, GIF CEO.

 

Saskia van der Mast, investment director of DOB Equity, adds, “We expect the demand for recyclable materials in emerging markets such as Kenya to overtake that in developed countries, driven by the fact that Kenya is a growth market for these companies, as well as the negative effect of plastic packaging being more evident.”

 

She further adds, “With its unique sourcing infrastructure and focus on quality, we believe Mr. Green Africa can work together with companies and provide an example for the plastics value chain globally.”

Source : newzmart