Kubik, the African sustainable tech startup has raised $5.2 million seed funding round. The seed round makes it the first Ethiopian company to raise a multi-million dollar investment in climate and sustainability solutions.
Investors in the round include leading East African venture capital firm African Renaissance Partners; net-zero focused; Endgame Capital, investor in technologies addressing climate change; and climate and extreme poverty investor King Philanthropies.
“We are thrilled to close our $5.2 million seed funding round and welcome our stellar new investors. They have seen Kubik’s compelling market opportunity, our delivery against our strategy to date, and share our purpose-driven vision – to build sustainably and affordably to a brighter, greener future.” Kidus Asfaw, Co-founder and CEO of Kubik, said.
Kubik is an environmental technology company using plastic waste to make low-carbon, durable, and affordable buildings, removing plastic waste from the environment and promoting greener, cleaner development across Africa. Kubik’s products cost at least 40% less per square metre than traditional cement-based development, and their low-carbon qualities yield 5x less greenhouse gas emissions.
As Kubik pursues its pan-African growth strategy, the company says the proceeds will be used to scale production; grow its team and market presence in Ethiopia; strengthen its technology to trace waste and track environmental impact; and deepen its reach to empower female waste collectors.
The latest fund raise follows an exciting growth period for Kubik during which it has launched a new plastic upcycling factory in Ethiopia’s state-of-the-art Adama Industrial Park, Ethiopia; begun to source plastic at scale in collaboration with the City of Addis Ababa and various social enterprises in the waste management sector.
Market drivers for Kubik’s investment case are compelling. Affordable housing is a $2.2 trillion global business in its own right, with a deficit of over 300 million units considered affordable to the most poor. With 40%+ of cost in housing development attributable to materials, Kubik’s business model of turning hard-to-recycle plastic waste into affordable building materials is ideally positioned.
“Today’s fundraise will allow us to keep up with the escalating demand we’re experiencing, scale our operations further with enhanced technology, empower more female waste collectors and turbo-charge our pan-African growth ambitions. We look forward to the future with great confidence.” Kidus said.
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