E-waste makes Erth go round

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Hello reader,

I wouldn’t exactly call myself a hoarder, but I can’t throw away old electronics.

Maybe it’s because I grew up right around the end of the analog age. Back then, electronic devices weren’t so ubiquitous, and the gadgets you did have needed to be cherished. Or maybe I’m just being neurotic by thinking I need to hold on to my iPhone 4 just in case I’ll need it someday.

But most people are more reasonable about throwing out old devices, and it’s partially thanks to them that e-waste recycling is a growing industry. Malaysia-based Erth is one startup that’s turning a profit by recycling old phones and other devices.

Today we look at:

• How Erth is turning one man’s trash into another’s treasure
• TikTok’s moves to resurrect its ecommerce business in Indonesia
• Other newsy highlights such as ecommerce enabler Etaily’s expansion push and a look at Grab’s protracted path to profit.

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Recycling profit with Erth

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Erth, which stands for Electronic Recycling Through Heroes, has taken the familiar Malaysian concept of on-the-road recyclers and applied it to electronic devices.

The firm was established in 2018 by Finnish-Egyptian entrepreneur Mohamed Tarek El-Fatatry. One of its backers is Gobi Partners, which invested via a fund that counts Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional as a limited partner.

• Lightbulb moment: Prior to Erth, El-Fatatry ran a company that deployed solar energy systems in African countries. He faced a turning point when an investor pointed out how solar units would contribute to e-waste problems at the end of their life cycle. He began to focus on waste management after meeting his partner and wife Nahed Bedir Eletribi at a conference.
• Missing link: Erth manages a network of waste collectors or “heroes” that operate like gig workers by picking up e-waste and transporting it to recycling centers. The startup, which gathered 500 tonnes of e-waste in 2022, also collects devices that can be resold to consumers and gadgets that need to be refurbished.
• Temperature’s rising: While the startup has been profitable since 2019, market competition is heating up, El-Fatatry says. An investor in the sector told Tech in Asia that when Erth began in 2018, there were only about five officially licensed recycling collectors in Malaysia But now, that figure is at 122, according to the country’s Department of Environment. There is also the risk that a cash-rich competitor could take on Erth despite its first-mover advantage.

Read more: Malaysian startup collects profits from e-waste recycling

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