London-based circular economy startup Reboxed, which embeds refurbished electronic ecommerce solutions to brands, has raised £1.6m.
Founded in 2020, Reboxed is aiming to tackle e-waste by offering consumers second-hand electronics and brands re-commerce services.
Data published by Statista revealed that more than 50 million metric tons of e-waste are generated globally per year, made up of thrown-away smartphones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches and other devices.
Reboxed claims its platform can help combat this by working with brands to support their transition to a circular economy. Reboxed embeds its re-commerce solutions to industry partners that distribute the rehomed devices to their customers.
The startup recently secured a partnership with SMARTY, a mobile operator owned by Three.
“We want to give everyone access to high quality, great value tech, with a flexible, hassle-free experience,” said Reboxed co-founder and CEO Phil Kemish.
“Mounting ESG pressures means that businesses are looking for integrated solutions that will help them achieve their climate goals. Reboxed’s sustainable services help businesses do just that. This latest investment will be used to expand our growing team, build out our technology stack and scale the brand.”
The seed investment in the company was led by the venture capital firm ACF Investors.
“Awareness of the need for sustainability is fundamentally changing the retail landscape and driving a trend toward more responsible consumption,” said Tim Mills, managing partner at ACF Investors.
“Too often the price of sustainability is an unnecessarily compromised customer experience, hence we are delighted to be backing the Reboxed team as they shift the benchmark and for the first time give UK consumers access to premium ‘like new’ products.”
In September 2021, Reboxed raised £1m in a round that featured participation from Ministry of Sound.