ScarabTech, a clean technology startup, announced today that it has raised seed money from the GIIG Africa Fund.
The capital will be used to fund the development of several commercial projects across Africa, Asia, and the Australian subcontinent over the next year. The investment represents the company’s first equity-led round after initial funding from various angel investors.
These devices heat waste plastic to produce a vapour that is then collected and reconstituted into carbon-neutral fuel, which can power the same generators and engines that are currently in use. These devices were developed using specialized software algorithms and design.
In this way, the technology aims to simultaneously address the growing negative effects that single-use plastics have on local communities and the environment’s health while also producing a sustainable energy source and new jobs to combat energy poverty and run micro-economies in underserved communities across southern Africa and the rest of the world.
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ScarabTech New Capital
The announcement of this latest round of funding coincides with ScarabTech’s selection as the African regional winner of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Tech category at this year’s Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.
The GIIG Africa Fund uses the GSA as its exclusive vehicle to identify, support, and scale Africa’s most innovative startups that offer clean energy solutions that are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The GSA is the largest independent startup ecosystem competition on the continent.
“This round of equity-led investment is a significant achievement for the team and will help us prove our technology for global distribution. Previously we were angel-funded between 2018 and 2022,” notes Jeffrey Barbee, a co-founder and the CEO of ScarabTech.
“The Awards happened just as our first Beetle machines were being deployed, and GSA gave us a strong platform to amplify the awareness of our company, helping repay the belief of our initial investors while providing a gateway to access future funding. Now, we aim to expand our portfolio of real-world commercial projects, with partners like French-based Plastic Odyssey, a global expedition that uses our Beetle on their ship to show people around the world how to add value to plastic pollution. We are also excited to work with Plastics Pirate in Australia, who are already using our technology to clean up plastic pollution threatening the Great Barrier Reef.”
Barbee claims that the cash obtained from GIIG Africa would be utilized to help the firm finalize the Beetle reference design and get ready to commence commercial production by December 2023 using the knowledge gained from these projects.
He adds that: “These projects, and others in the field, are validating our business model and technology in its intended operating environment, a crucial step before we scale the business to start making an impact in the fight against plastic waste. This GIIG funding has made all of this possible.”
The ScarabTech solution is needed because less than 11% of the 6.3 million metric tonnes of plastic garbage produced each year is recycled. Annual production is projected to more than double by 2050 if current production and waste management patterns continue, posing a serious threat to the health of both human populations and the environment and harming sectors like tourism, infrastructure development, agriculture, and fisheries.
ScarabTech’s modular concept offers a local source of power and job creation for local communities fighting the dual problems of plastic pollution and energy security, which have been brought to light by Africa’s struggle for energy security in the face of rising population growth, sluggish economic development, and climate change.
“Globally, we are seeing a greater appetite for ESG-related investments in the technology sector, as markets across the globe see innovation as an important vehicle for addressing key challenges relating to global warming and renewable energy,” says Jo Griffiths, Co-founder of GIIG Africa.
“But in Africa – a continent home to startups like ScarabTech, which are developing impact-orientated solutions that create real value for local communities on the periphery – we’re not seeing enough investment into these sectors, and so we have made it our mission to lead the charge in this regard. Today we are incredibly excited to welcome Jeffrey and the team to our portfolio and we look forward to helping them take their Beetles to the world.”
The next season of the African Startup Awards will begin on January 18, 2023, and GSA Africa has also announced its start to help uncover, support, and scale like-minded solutions for Africa’s sustainable development.
About ScarabTech
ScarabTech, established in 2018, specializes in creating “Beetles,” which are little and incredibly effective plastic-to-energy converters.