DEAL: Nigerian startup, Kaltani raises $4 million to tackle plastic waste pollution

Kaltani, a Nigerian startup that aims to solve Africa’s plastic waste problem through recycling, has raised $4 million in seed funding. With this funding, the company is aiming to open 20 new collection and aggregation centres across Nigeria and increase its staff strength to over 500 people.

This development will augment Kaltani’s capacity substantially, allowing the company to recycle up to 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year. The company did not disclose the source(s) of the funding.

Founded in Nigeria by Engineer Obi Charles Nnanna, Kaltani says its vision is to solve Africa’s growing plastic waste crisis by promoting the circular economy and recycling best practices.

What the startup is saying

Announcing the funding via a post on its LinkedIn page, the company said, “Kaltani was formed with a simple mission: To solve the plastic pollution problems affecting our lands, our oceans, and our environment. For us to accelerate our progress, we expanded beyond just PET recycling to PP& PE recycling. We also started collecting plastics ourselves, establishing various collection centres in different parts of the country.

“In light of this, we are delighted to announce that we have raised $4 million in seed funding to support our mission to eradicate plastic waste pollution in Africa.”

The startup’s founder, Obi Charles Nnanna added: “The world has a plastic pollution crisis. Plastic waste is an environmental disaster causing environmental degradation to our oceans, aquatic life, the air we breathe and our health. With the amount of plastic waste produced set to continue skyrocketing, the world desperately needs actionable and scalable solutions. At Kaltani, we have already proven that our solution and model works effectively and efficiently with a thorough A-Z value chain solution, and we are beyond excited to commence our expansion into other parts of Nigeria.”