Nearly 90% of plastics circularity capital in emerging markets went to Asia, mostly to recycling and recovery

Emerging economies often cite a lack of capital as the most significant barrier to creating a profitable plastics circularity market. New data now shows that global investors injected over US$4.1 billion into such solutions in emerging markets across the world over a five-year period since 2018, with Asia receiving the bulk of the investment.

The data, traced using a new investment tracking tool launched in March by non-profit The Circulate Initiative, confirms that Asia remains a huge focus for seed investors and venture capitalists looking to have a stake in the region’s emerging markets. 87 per cent of all funding for plastics circularity in emerging economies – or about US$3.5 billion – went to the region between Jan 2018 and Sep 2022.

Within Asia, Southeast Asia attracted the largest amount of private capital – US$1.6 billion – followed by East Asia and South Asia with US$1.1 billion and US$678 million, respectively.