Upaya Social Ventures Invests In ScrapUncle To Formalize India’s Circular Economy And Create Green Livelihoods

Press Release

Jan 25

Written By Upaya

Bangalore, India | January 26, 2026

Upaya Social Ventures is delighted to announce its latest investment in ScrapUncle (Swapeco Solutions Pvt. Ltd.), a Delhi-based enterprise modernizing India’s fragmented scrap and e-waste collection sector through a transparent, tech-enabled, and human-centered model. The investment will support ScrapUncle’s efforts to formalize waste collection, improve traceability, and increase incomes for waste collection workers while advancing climate action.

Founded in 2019 by Mukul Chhabra, a B.Tech graduate from IIIT-Delhi, ScrapUncle addresses the sector’s long-standing informality by operating a closed, managed network that ensures end-to-end accountability. All collections are carried out exclusively by ScrapUncle-trained collectors, known as “Green Superheroes,” who work solely with them, enabling consistent service standards, worker safety, and operational control. The company’s approach has also been backed by an investment on Shark Tank India Season 2.

ScrapUncle runs a vertically integrated system where collectors are provided with electric pickup trucks and all collected material is routed to ScrapUncle warehouses. At these facilities, waste is digitally weighed, sorted, and sent only to authorized recyclers, ensuring responsible recycling and end-to-end traceability. Households can schedule doorstep scrap and e-waste pickups through ScrapUncle’s mobile app, with transparent pricing and a consistent service experience. For businesses and institutions, ScrapUncle manages the entire waste collection and recycling process, providing clear documentation and traceability. By managing people, vehicles, warehouses, and technology in-house, ScrapUncle delivers better service quality while creating more stable and predictable livelihoods for collectors. The model also provides structured training, safety protocols, and dignified working conditions, helping professionalize a sector that has traditionally been informal.

“ScrapUncle is transforming the informal waste sector into a transparent, high-value supply chain, especially in the critical area of e-waste where recycling is far more valuable for the planet than continued extraction. While Upaya has backed innovations across plastic, wet waste, and other segments, e-waste represents a distinct market with enormous potential for circularity. ScrapUncle is showing how this opportunity can be scaled while creating dignified, resilient incomes for the workers at the heart of the system,” said AB Chakravarthy, Co-CEO of Upaya Social Ventures.

This investment follows ScrapUncle’s successful participation in the Circular Innovation Cohort 2025 under the Dignified Jobs Accelerator. This cohort was led by Upaya Social Ventures in partnership with Global Business Inroads and rePurpose Global and with support from Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) at the Aspen Institute and IKEA Foundation. By advancing from Level 1 to Level 2, the company showcased strong impact potential, market readiness, and a clear path to scale, validating the accelerator’s mission to equip early-stage enterprises for investment.

“We’ve always loved being a part of the Upaya ecosystem. Beyond capital, Upaya brings a strong and relevant network across climate, social impact, and the circular economy sector, which has been super helpful for us. We aspire to scale ScrapUncle pan-India and become the first company to truly organize the recycling supply chain, at a scale and complexity comparable to e-commerce. We prefer calling this as C2B e-commerce, and ScrapUncle is building the first end-to-end tech stack to power it."” said Mukul Chhabra, Founder & CEO of ScrapUncle.

This marks Upaya’s 46th investment from the Pool of Recoverable Grants (PRG) and supports its mission to create dignified jobs and scale climate-aligned enterprises, particularly those strengthening circularity and waste management systems. The funding will help ScrapUncle expand to new geographies, enhance its traceability platform, and grow its nationwide network of collection partners. Through this partnership, Upaya continues its commitment to backing purpose-driven enterprises that generate stable and safe employment for people living in extreme poverty, while championing inclusive, climate-forward businesses creating lasting, systemic change in underserved communities.

ABOUT UPAYA SOCIAL VENTURES:

Upaya Social Ventures is building a dignified economy by providing investment and support to early-stage businesses creating sustainable livelihoods for people living in the most extreme poverty.

Upaya’s award-winning impact-first model seeks out and supports oft-overlooked companies creating work that is safe, stable, inclusive, and rewarding—generating a transformative impact on families, communities, and economies.

Since its founding in 2011, Upaya’s portfolio companies have created over 72,000 dignified jobs across India. Please visit upayasv.org for more information.