Aditya Hadi Pratama · · 2 min readIndonesian waste management firm bags $5m from Openspace, SOSV
Octopus, an Indonesia-based waste treatment startup, has raised US$5 million in a funding round led by Openspace and SOSV.
(From left) Octopus founders Dimas Ario, Hamish Daud, Niko Adi Nugroho, and Rizki Mardian / Photo credit: Octopus
Founded last year, Octopus connects users to local waste collectors that will buy and pick up their post-consumer products, which include plastic and electronic waste. The startup provides waste collectors with smartphones to help make picking up orders and setting prices easier. It also gives collectors access to its own digital wallet offering.
The company said that it currently has 150,000 monthly active users and more than 60,000 waste collectors on its platform. It operates five sorting facilities and 1,700 checkpoints in Jakarta, Bandung, Bali, and Makassar. The firm added that it handles 380 tons of waste every month.
Octopus also has partnerships with 20 brands to help them with Extended Producer Responsibility compliance.
See also: Meet the players fighting plastic scourge in SEA
The company was established by Moehammad Ichsan along with local celebrity Hamish Daud, serial entrepreneur Dimas Ario, former Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia executive Niko Adi Nugroho, and former Sayurbox data executive Rizki Mardian.
Octopus plans to use the fresh funding to strengthen its ecosystem and expand its services. It aims to have 100,000 waste collectors by 2024, as well as to acquire over one million users and tap more cities.
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Lorenzo Kyle Subido
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