Waste management startup Blue Planet bags US$10m from Sysma

CONSTRUCTION and property development firm Sysma Holdings has invested US$10 million in Singapore-based Blue Planet Environmental Solutions.

Through this strategic partnership, the startup will accelerate its efforts to deploy integrated, inclusive and sustainable waste management solutions around Asia.

The investment marks Catalist-listed Sysma's entry into the sustainability sector, said Blue Planet in a statement on Wednesday.

Sysma is looking to tap the growing opportunities in the circular economy, which seeks to reduce waste, recover resources at the end of a product's life and channel them back into production.

Founded in 2017, Blue Planet has been acquiring technologies in each step of the waste management process, including collection and transportation, segregation and processing.

It aims to achieve high resource recovery and circularity along the waste management cycle.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Monday, 3.30 pm

Garage

The hottest news on all things startup and tech to kickstart your week.

Sign Up

With the latest round of investment, Blue Planet will increase its efforts in adding technological solutions and partners to its portfolio, and continue to scale sustainable waste solutions across the region, said the startup's founder and chairman Madhujeet Chimni.

Sysma's deputy chief executive Sin Ee Wuen noted that the injection of funds is a step forward in integrating environmental, social and governance considerations into the company's business strategy.

In Asia, challenges lie in the integration of the fragmented waste sector and the financing of waste management systems in rapidly urbanising areas.

Blue Planet is creating an accessible platform of technologies that can upcycle or recycle different streams of waste.

"This suite of technologies enables our customers to extract financial value from waste processing by recovering valuable resources, mitigating carbon emissions and creating meaningful employment in local communities," the startup said.

It has more than 50 decentralised organic-waste management units and five plastic-waste processing units across South Asia.

One of Blue Planet's key investors is the infrastructure-focused Neev Fund, created by the State Bank of India and the UK government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.