Sustainable tech startup Kubik announces raising an additional funding of 1.9 million dollars in seed extension. This latest funding round follows Kubik’s successful seed round last year, which raised 3.34 million dollars, bringing the total seed funding to 5.2 million dollars.
Kubik, which is the first Ethiopian company to raise a multi-million-dollar investment in climate and sustainability solutions, converts plastic waste into building materials.
Investors in the round include East African venture capital firm African Renaissance Partners; net-zero-focused Endgame Capital, an investor in technologies addressing climate change; and climate and extreme poverty investor King Philanthropies.
“The funding will help us scale our work in Ethiopia,” Kidus Asfaw, co-founder and CEO of Kubik, told Shega.
In a press release shared with Shega, the startup stated that 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.
Kubik has already established a plastic upcycling factory in Adama Industrial Park. They source plastic waste through collaborations with the Addis Ababa City Administration and waste management social enterprises. In addition, it states securing several clients, including Pharo Ventures and Cornerstone Development Group.
“We are thrilled to close our $5 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,” said Kidus.
According to Kubik, affordable housing is a $2.2 trillion global business, with a deficit of over 300 million units considered affordable to the poorest. With 40%+ of the cost of housing development attributable to materials, Kubik’s business model is based on turning hard-to-recycle plastic waste into affordable building materials.
“From a climate perspective, cement is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Finding an alternative that is not only more sustainable but also significantly cheaper is an outstanding achievement,’ stated Endgame Capital, in the press release.
Kubik also sees massive potential in Africa’s most rapidly urbanizing countries.
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