Waste collection startup is innovation and income in the periphery

Crisis encourages the creation of new businesses in the peripheries

Above all, moments of crisis stimulate entrepreneurship in Brazil. And, speaking of the periphery, most of the time, out of necessity, entrepreneurs take their ideas from paper in an empirical way. Selling lunch to eat dinner: in some cases, this is the reality. 

That way, with little knowledge, resources and no chance for mistakes, small businesses are born. And so, there are many innovative ideas that fail to scale due to lack of financial education. However, some initiatives are successful and inspiring, both for communities and for society in general.

Innovation in the peripheries of Brazil

Therefore, on the outskirts, numerous innovative and high social impact businesses are constantly emerging. At the same time, some initiatives to accelerate such companies are developing. And, more than ever, the businesses that emerge within the peripheries are being seen. Proof of this are the movements of accelerator companies within these communities. 

One of them is the Periferia Impact Business Accelerator – ANIP, which arose from the partnership between the producer A Banca and Artemisia and the Getulio Vargas Foundation’s Entrepreneurship and New Business Center – FGVcenn.

The program consists of individual accompaniment and mentoring, in addition to the acceleration itself. Therefore, selected entrepreneurs from the peripheries can learn about different topics, such as financial management, digital marketing, legal issues, among others. So, those who have active participation can even receive seed capital of up to 20 thousand reais. In this context, another initiative worth mentioning is Semente Negócios, which promotes financial education in private organizations and universities.

Semente Negócios is a partnership with the city of São Paulo in the technological innovation program for residents of the periphery, Vai Tec, for example. Now, get to know the case of Coletando Soluções: a startup that was born in the periphery and even won an international innovation award.

Meet the startup Collecting Solutions

If even a garbage car has difficulties to reach the periphery, what about innovation? Definitely, for these vehicles, it is a real challenge to face streets and alleys. However, innovation does not choose a day, time or place: just an entrepreneurial mind that thinks out of the ordinary and recognizes opportunities is enough .

In short, it was by joining technology and innovation to the waste collection process that Saulo Ricci, founder of Coletando Soluções, created solutions for him, his community and society in general. It all started when his daughter was born in 2008: he decided he wanted (and needed) to leave a legacy in the world. So he created Coletando Soluções with the aim of taking selective waste collection to sensitive access sites within communities. 

In this context, the startup encourages recycling through itinerant ecopoints in the periphery. That is, in exchange for the waste, residents and recyclers receive money in a digital account.

How began Collecting Solutions

Determined to find an innovative solution to an old community problem, Saulo focused on his own family’s history. To support him and his brothers, his mother raised money through recycling. A defined objective, Saulo saw that it was necessary to understand the dynamics of the segment he had chosen. Therefore, he made a real immersion in recycling cooperatives, seeking to understand the routine of workers in the field.

So, in 2013, it created the first business model. At the time, he developed a test project with an energy company in the Northeast, which exchanged waste for discounts. Soon after, listening to the requests of his customers, the entrepreneur began to offer a card to consumers, and payment for the recycled material was immediately available. 

Source of income for recyclers

In other words, in addition to solving the problem of selective garbage collection, Coletando Soluções was solving one more: the debanking of low-income people.

The company, so far, has received more than 1 million packages, which add up to 500 tons. Recyclers generated an income of more than 200 thousand reais. To the world, the added value of Saulo’s attitude is priceless. In 2020, Coletando Soluções started a kind of ecopoint franchise . Therefore, the company developed a licensing system with those who wanted to earn money from their own ecopoint.

Startup Featured in InovAtiva de Impacto

In 2019 Coletando Soluções won the Startup Destaque award for the acceleration program InovAtiva de Impacto. However, it did not stop there: the awards caught the attention of investors and the startup received a contribution of 620,000 from Criabiz and Anjos do Brasil . Currently, Coletando Soluções has eight itinerant ecopoints, which are distributed in the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Bahia and Minas Gerais.