WASHINGTON, June 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Circulate
Capital, the investment management firm dedicated to incubating and
financing companies and infrastructure that prevent ocean plastic
in South and Southeast Asia
(SSEA), today announced a blended finance partnership with the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID) to combat ocean
plastic pollution. Through this new agreement, USAID will provide
up to a $35 million, 50%
loan-portfolio guarantee through the Development Credit Authority
(DCA) to incentivize private capital investment and new business
development in the recycling value chain in South and Southeast Asia.
The public sector support from the USAID partnership enhances
the private sector support that Circulate Capital has received to
combat ocean plastic, which is more than $100 million committed by the world's leading
corporations, including PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), the first investor;
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG); Dow (NYSE: DOW); Danone (EPA: BN);
Unilever (NYSE: UN; NYSE: UL) and The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:
KO). At least 50% of the total investments covered by the USAID
guarantee will be used for loans in Indonesia, The
Philippines, Vietnam and
Sri Lanka where USAID's Municipal
Waste Recycling Program supports local partners in reducing ocean
plastic pollution.
The partnership was formally announced earlier today at a
special launch event hosted by The Wilson Center in
Washington D.C.; and supported by
USAID, Circulate Capital, and Ocean Conservancy, a leading
nonprofit environmental advocacy organization working to protect
the world's ocean. Remarks were made by The Honorable Sheldon
Whitehouse, U.S. Senator (D-RI), and Chris
Milligan, Counselor, USAID. A panel discussion on the use of
innovative solutions and blended finance to tackle the ocean
plastic crisis was moderated by Ambassador David Balton, Senior Fellow, Wilson Center;
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries, U.S.
Department of State. Panelists included: Rob Kaplan, Founder and CEO, Circulate Capital;
Haley Lowry, Global Sustainability
and End Use Marketing Director, Dow; Steve
Sikra, Associate Director, Research & Development,
Global Product Stewardship, Procter & Gamble; Carrie Thompson, Acting Assistant Administrator,
Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment, USAID; and
Emily Woglom, Executive Vice
President, Ocean Conservancy.
"By blending private and public sector capital, our partnership
with USAID will accelerate and expand the magnitude of the impact
we can achieve beyond anything we could do separately," said
Rob Kaplan, Founder and CEO of
Circulate Capital. "By financing companies, innovations, and
projects that prevent ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia, we will stop ocean plastic at
its source and remove capital as a barrier to critical waste and
recycling infrastructure development."
"We need to implement a range of solutions to address the ocean
plastic crisis—including reducing our reliance on single-use
plastics and moving toward a more circular economy. However, the
science shows that one of the first things we should do is make
sure that plastic waste is actually collected and disposed of
properly—in other words, we need to invest in effective waste
management systems," said Emily
Woglom, Ocean Conservancy's Executive Vice President.
"Circulate Capital is on the cutting edge of making this investment
possible, and we are thrilled USAID is stepping up to support it.
It is these kinds of collaborative partnerships that leverage
strengths across government, business, and NGOs that will
ultimately make a real difference for the ocean."
Circulate Capital's strategy to prevent future ocean plastic
reflects a uniquely comprehensive approach that goes beyond
providing investment capital to entrepreneurs. Through the
Incubator Network by Circulate Capital and SecondMuse,
announced on September 20,
2018 at the G7 Oceans Partnership Summit in Halifax, Canada, Circulate Capital is also
using philanthropic and public funds and technical assistance to
support and develop public and nonprofit entities to implement new
approaches and build capacity that can support large institutional
capital commitments.
About Circulate Capital
Circulate Capital is an investment management firm dedicated to
incubating and financing companies and infrastructure that prevent
ocean plastic. We focus on the prevention of mismanaged plastic
waste in countries located in South
Asia and Southeast Asia,
regions that contribute disproportionately to ocean plastic
pollution primarily because they often lack the critical waste
infrastructure to manage the problem. We were created in
collaboration with Closed Loop Partners and Ocean Conservancy, and
our founding investors are expected to include PepsiCo, the first
investor; Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone, Unilever and The
Coca-Cola Company. We are also supported by many other leading
consumer product goods and chemical companies, intergovernmental
organizations and associations including 3M, American Chemistry Council, Kimberly-Clark,
Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of
East Asia (PEMSEA) and the World
Plastics Council.
About Ocean Conservancy
Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today's
greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create
science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and
communities that depend on it. www.oceanconservancy.org
About USAID
President John. F. Kennedy created the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) by executive order in 1961 to
lead the US government's international development and humanitarian
efforts. Today, USAID leads international development and
humanitarian efforts to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen
democratic governance and help people progress beyond
assistance.
Media Contact:
Cindy Stoller
Confluence Partners
917-331-0418
cstoller@confluencepartners.com
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SOURCE Circulate Capital