Cleantech Startup ScrapUncle Raises INR 22 Cr To Expand Presence Across Delhi NCR

Cleantech startup ScrapUncle has raised INR 22 Cr (about $2.4 Mn) in its pre-Series A funding round co-led by Orios Venture Partners and Acumen Fund. The round also saw participation from Upaya Social Ventures, Venture Catalysts, We Founder Circle, Soonicorn Ventures, and angel investor Bharat Jaisinghani.

The Delhi NCR-based startup, which enables doorstep pickup of recyclable materials, plans to use the fresh fund for expanding its presence in the capital and “lay the foundation” for making its app available in other metro cities.

The capital will also fund ScrapUncle’s capital expenditure plans, mainly investments in fulfillment infrastructure and laying the groundwork for a future in-house e-waste recycling facility, while also aiding workforce and technology expansion.

Founded in 2019 by Mukul Chhabra, the startup facilitates doorstep collection of household recyclable materials through scrap collectors employed as gig workers, formalising the erstwhile fragmented and exploitative scrap collection industry.

ScrapUncle focusses on recycling household items, including e-waste, paper, metals, cartons, plastics, textiles and end-of-life vehicles. The collected materials are segregated and processed at ScrapUncle’s warehouses, from where they are routed to authorised recyclers.

The front end of ScrapUncle’s platform facilitates the service end-to-end, including booking, pricing and weighing, while the back end enables digital tagging, traceability, logistics, and inventory management across operations.

The startup aims to digitise the recycling ecosystem to eliminate middlemen and allow traceability of recycled materials for greater transparency and compliance.

“Our vision is to scale ScrapUncle pan-India and become the first company to truly organise the recycling supply chain at scale,” Chhabra said.

ScrapUncle claims to have completed over 300K pickups and recycled around 20 Mn kilograms of waste worth INR 45 Cr since its inception.

ScrapUncle featured on the second season of Shark Tank India and raised INR 60 Lakh from CarDekho cofounder Amit Jain in return for a 5% equity stake. Later, it raised INR 3.7 Cr in 2023 from multiple investors, including Bestvantage and Jaisinghani.

While still largely informal, several startups are trying to digitise the scrap industry and overall circular economy. ScrapUncle’s direct competitors in the space include Scrapdeal, Let’scrap, ClearScrap, ScrapJi, Atterro, among others.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recognised 1,411 waste management startups, 54% of which operate in non-metro cities, with the highest number being in Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat.

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