Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a premium subscription.
Hello,
It’s quite an Asian thing for parents to tell their children to study hard and warn them of the consequences if they didn’t: that they would end up as service workers like, gasp, garbage collectors.
It’s totally disrespectful and I’m glad my own parents didn’t do that, but the sentiment has become common enough that it’s now a stereotype.
The funny thing is, the waste management industry isn’t even as bad as many people think. There’ve been reports of employees in the space earning decent wages despite being uneducated, and someone even said that they could make US$3,700 a month in that line of work.
It’s clear that there’s a lot of money to be made in the sector, and a great example of this is Singaporean firm Blue Planet. The company has come a long way since its founding in 2017, with its financials looking better and better each year. Our premium story today takes a closer look at its journey.
Today we look at:
- How Blue Planet reached its US$321 million valuation
- Grab’s performance in Q1 2023
- Other newsy highlights such as Gojek and Dat Bike’s partnership and Apple’s new online store in Vietnam
— Jonathan
Premium summary
I’m blue da ba dee
Image credit: Timmy Loen
There’s a ton of opportunities in the waste management and recycling sectors – and Blue Planet has let none of them go to waste. It’s already acquired 10 firms in the space and it’s been profitable for the last two years. Wondering how it got here? We’ve got you covered.
- Never say never: Blue Planet has over 170 ongoing projects spread across 15 markets. It has offices in five countries and is gearing up for a sixth soon as it opens an e-waste processing facility in Switzerland.
- Come together: According to Blue Planet CEO Prashant Singh, companies in the waste management sector are often made of teams that work in silos. To prevent this from happening to his company, Singh says that Blue Planet combines synergies of its businesses “for local and global opportunities.”
- Elsewhere on the planet: Besides India and Southeast Asia, Singh believes that there’s potential for growth in the waste management industry in developed countries like the US, where recycling rates are low and landfills are commonly used.
Read more: SG firm mints profits from waste management
Going toward green for Grab
Join us and share the hardest challenges you’ve faced as a founder
Quick bytes
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
