Circulate Capital invests in Indian plastic recycling firm Lucro

Circulate Capital, a Singapore-based investment management company, on Tuesday said it has made its debut investment in Indian plastic recycling company Lucro Plastecycle Pvt Ltd.

The investment was made through Circulate Capital Ocean Fund, which is dedicated to investing in start-ups solving ocean plastic crisis in South and Southeast Asia, Circulate Capital said in a statement.

The company has also made an investment in an Indonesian company through the Circulate Capital Ocean Fund, it said.

The total investment in the two companies was about USD 6 million, the company said without specifying the exact amount invested in Mumbai-based Lucro.

Lucro, founded in 2012, is an expert in recycling difficult-to-manage flexible plastic for its own production of similar flexible products such as shrink wrap and films and for sale as high-quality recycled plastic granules to manufacturers across the country.

"By investing in small and medium-sized businesses that reduce plastic pollution and advance the circular economy, we can build sustainable businesses that can endure through a crisis," Circulate Capital CEO Rob Kaplan said.

Its Circulate Capital Ocean Fund has a corpus of UD 106 million. PepsiCo came in as the first limited partner (LP), or investor, in the fund. Other LPs include major companies such as The Coca-Cola Co, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone and CHANEL.