Eco-Friendly Packaging Developer Startup “Plepah” Receives Funding from BRI Ventures

BRI Ventures, through Venture Funds Sembrani Kiqani, made an initial investment for a startup producer of environmentally friendly packaging "Plepah" with an undisclosed amount. The company will utilize fresh funds to validate the concept sustainable business that is able to grow, by increasing capacity to reduce prices, strengthening teams, and preparing a business ecosystem that implements ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) referring to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).

Plepah was founded in 2018 by Receng Banyu Mahandaru and his colleagues who are focused on producing environmentally friendly non-forest wood based organic cutlery packaging (NTFP) using raw materials from betel nut commodity waste. This startup also puts forward the concept of a community that empowers villages and communities in South Sumatra and Jambi by utilizing their workforce to treat waste as an alternative economic income.

Sembrani Kiqani is an investment vehicle pioneered by BRI Ventures in November 2021, assigned to inject early-stage funding to startups engaged in the D2C and consumer platform sectors. One of the portfolios is Yield Guild Games Southeast Asia (YGG SEA), game company based on blockchain.

In an official statement, BRI Ventures CEO Nicko Widjaja said, over the past two years the D2C sector has shown very massive growth. The country needs funding initiatives aimed at local brands in today's fast-growing fashion, culinary and beauty fields.

"This can be the beginning of Indonesia as a creative economic powerhouse. Brand We hope that those from Indonesia will become winners in this country, so that they can compete with other countries brand more and more global entering the country. This is our passion in carrying out the Sembrani Kiqani initiative," Nicko said in an official statement, Monday (30/5).

BRI Ventures Investment Director Markus Liman Rahardja added that the investment provided by BRI Ventures is expected to encourage Plepah to continue to develop its business and products. And, contribute to the acceleration of the adoption of environmentally friendly products in Indonesia.

"Investing in an environmentally friendly company at the same time confirms the position of BRI Ventures as one of the venture capital who sees a startup not only financially healthy but also environmentally friendly, said Mark.

plepah

Talk about potential plepahDuring the pandemic, delivery services in Jabodetabek increased by 47%. This condition makes the amount of single-use plastic waste soar. With the largest potential for this industry in Southeast Asia, Indonesia contributes 561 million units of single-use plastic packaging waste every month.

At the same time, it is claimed that young people's awareness of climate change is increasing. This is indicated by the statistics of 13,48 million people in this group who prefer environmentally friendly brands. Therefore, Plepah is committed to reducing the amount of single-use plastic waste to 15 million units starting next year.

Plepah Co-founder & CEO Rekuk Banyu Mahandaru said the startup uses community-based operations, by empowering communities around plantation areas, especially on the island of Sumatra by providing them with alternative income in the processing of areca nut raw materials. This is done by putting forward the three SDGs from the United Nations as a reference.

"Throughout the process, Plepah unites and collaborates with various parties in Indonesia, and jointly carries out various activities to design and produce a sustainable and comprehensive system to answer the challenges of environmental and social problems in Indonesia," said Rengkulu.

CMO Plepah Almira also added that the cause of the high plastic waste in Indonesia is also due to poor plastic waste management. The amount of plastic reaches a total of 68,5 million tons in 2021. "This trend is also predicted to continue to increase by 5% every year, if waste management and alternative products such as environmentally friendly packaging are not activated from now on," he said.

Currently, the company is collaborating with several cosmetic, fashion and food brands, both local and global, to use the products sustainable packaging Leaf palm as a substitute product that is more environmentally friendly and eco-friendly.

A similar solution is also offered by Evo & Co which offers substitute products for cutlery and plastic bags made from environmentally friendly materials, such as seaweed, cassava, sugar cane, and so on. The startup also received early-stage funding from ANGO Ventures in August 2021.