Indonesia’s Remind bags $1.3m for e-waste recycling

Discarded electronics being sorted at Remind’s facility / Photo credit: Remind

Remind, an e-waste management startup based in Indonesia, has secured US$1.3 million in funding to ramp up its recycling capabilities. The round was led by Bali Investment Club and Beenext, with participation from Spiral Ventures.

Founded in 2020, Remind collects discarded electronics from manufacturers and organizations, dismantling them to extract valuable metals such as gold, copper, and silver. The startup says it has processed nearly 3,500 tonnes of e-waste since it began operating in September 2023 – equivalent to offsetting 5,600 tonnes of carbon-dioxide emissions, according to founder and CEO Dzikri Soefihara.

Remind will use the fresh capital to establish a separation facility, which will boost its material recovery rates, or the percentage of useful materials – like metals – successfully extracted from e-waste. Most of the company’s current revenue comes from trading these extracted materials.

“Remind’s innovative approach to e-waste recycling positions them to disrupt the industry,” says Nicolo Castiglione, managing partner at Bali Investment Club. “We believe their focus on sustainability and operational efficiency will create a significant impact across Indonesia and beyond.”

The company is tapping into Indonesia’s sizable e-waste supply. Estimated at 1.9 million metric tons in 2022, the country is the fourth-largest producer of e-waste in Asia, according to a UN report.

Only a fraction of that waste is formally processed, local media reports.

By the end of 2025, Remind aims to manage over 6,000 tonnes of e-waste, scaling to more than 90,000 tonnes by 2030. The company also plans to move further downstream, developing a refining facility that applies hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical methods – positioning itself as a local smelter.

Reminds intends to raise additional capital within the next three years to realize this goal.

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