IAN invests in social enterprise Saahas Waste Management

Saahas is a non-profit that focuses on organic waste management along with collection and recycling of packaging waste and e-waste

Indian Angel Network (IAN) has invested an undisclosed amount in Saahas Waste Management Private Limited, a Bengaluru-based social enterprise with a focus on decentralised waste management processes through which waste is converted to resources.

IAN investor member Nagaraj Prakasam has led this round of investment and will joint the board of Saahas. As an IAN impact angel, Prakasam has lead four other deals - Uniphore, GoCoOp, Freshworld and Solaron - and currently serves on their boards.

Founded by Wilma Rodrigues, Saahas is a non-for-profit startup that focuses on organic waste management along with collection and recycling of packaging waste and e-waste. The company concentrates on building capacities of public institutions like municipal corporations.

"Saahas pioneered the zero-waste campus very well with triple bottom-line focus and they have successfully accomplished to deliver onsite waste management services to bulk waste generators. Most of Bengaluru's 5000 tonne of daily waste ends in landfill that affects livelihood of people around the landfill. By segregating at source and recycling most of it, it is addressing this in a unique way. People," Prakasam said in a release on Friday.

Saahas employs over 80 waste pickers in campuses providing them dignity. By outsourcing their waste management to Saahas, bulk generators achieve zero-waste campus status and a step towards social responsibility and goodwill.

Saahas works with a range of bulk waste generators including corporate offices, apartment complexes and educational institutions to offer integrated solutions to managing waste close to the point of generation, according to the release.

"IAN's investment will be used to scale up the project by hiring key senior members in the team. Moving ahead, we expect to expand from a current 20 tonne per day to 80 tonne per day in the next three to five years," said founder Wilma Rodrigues.