WasteX, the first venture out of Wavemaker Impact’s climate-tech venture building program, has launched to help agricultural producers in Southeast Asia convert biomass waste into higher-value products that help fight climate change. Wavemaker Impact committed US$525,000 as an initial investment in the company.
WasteX is looking to tackle the problem of 3.5 billion tons of agricultural processing waste globally – that is dumped, burnt, or sold cheaply – by converting it to upgraded products with major financial, operational, and carbon benefits.
The company provides an end-to-end solution to agricultural producers – from selecting the right technology, its deployment, and operational support to the certification for carbon credits and facilitation of the sale and/or application of the higher-value products, such as biochar or black soldier flies.
The early assessment of the opportunity comes with a potential market of >US$150 billion in GMV for the upgraded products and >700 million metric tons in GHG reduction potential.
The venture was born out of Wavemaker Impact’s 4-month-long venture building process, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia with a pure climate tech focus. The team reviewed multiple problems and opportunities in land use, agriculture, and the food industry – the biggest contributors to the GHG emissions in the region – and conducted hundreds of interviews before selecting biomass waste conversion as one of the most promising opportunities in terms of both financial and carbon impact.
“There are some amazing new technologies and developments in waste valorisation but due to their novelty and process complexity, they are sparsely adopted by agricultural producers. Given how challenged the industry is by multiple global crises, including climate change, the war in Ukraine, and global inflation, we want to enable these new solutions for both smallholders and large producers, and unlock 3-5x more value for them,” said Pawel Kuznicki, the Founder and CEO of WasteX.
He added: “WasteX would not have been possible without the rigorous venture building program of Wavemaker Impact – their human and capital resources, broad and deep network, and impressive partners team. I am really looking forward to seeing the subsequent portfolio companies and the impact they will make.
Doug Parker, founding partner of Wavemaker Impact, commented, “We are excited to launch our first venture build with Pawel. WasteX is a great example of ‘100x100’ - a company with the potential to abate 100 million MT of CO2e and be a US$100 million revenue business on an annual basis. In addition to solving the huge challenge of agricultural waste, Pawel and the WasteX team are proving that it is possible to create real value for customers while fighting climate change in a material way.”
WasteX already started a number of pilot projects across Southeast Asia with clients including integrated agricultural companies, independent mills, and livestock farms. Over time, WasteX is looking to greatly digitise its solution and connect diverse players along the biomass waste value chain to scale this new industry.
The company is currently looking to hire talented individuals, who have passion for climate change mitigation and are based in any of the Southeast Asian countries, across product, business development, and engineering.
About WasteX
WasteX is a one-stop waste valorisation solution for agricultural producers in Southeast Asia. We help our clients utilise biomass waste and generate additional income, while reducing carbon footprint in the process. For more information, visit www.wastex.io.
About Wavemaker Impact
Wavemaker Impact is a first-of-its-kind climate tech venture builder in Southeast Asia. The Wavemaker Impact team co-founds sustainability start-ups with proven entrepreneurs, with the goal of reducing 10 per cent of the global carbon budget by 2035. It aims to rally individuals, investors, and businesses that care about the planet, and want to make a rapid, material change in the reduction of carbon emissions.
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