PadCare Labs, a Pune-based start-up for sustainable sanitary waste processing and recycling, has closed Rs 5 crore seed funding round led by Social Alpha with strategic investments from Lavni Ventures, 3ipartners, Rainmatter and Spectrum Impact.

PadCare plans to utilise the seed capital to expand the operating geographies in India and beyond in the next 24 months, majorly to set up decentralised material recovery centres. The clean-tech start-up will also continue to invest heavily in advancing its patented 5-dimensional recycling technology and for product commercialisation.

PadCare’s recycling technology closes the loop of the menstrual hygiene economy by generating recyclable output out of used pads, which would otherwise take up to 800 years to decompose. The recycled output is further used to make paper and plastic-based objects. They also provide pad vending machines to enhance the accessibility to menstrual products.

PadCare recently appeared on Shark Tank India Season 2 and generated interest from the judges aka sharks Peyush Bansal, Namita Thapar, Vineeta Singh and Anupam Mittal. Later, shark Peyush Bansal offered them a blank cheque on the show.

Shark Tank is a reality show featuring entrepreneurs pitching business presentations on their start-ups to a panel of investors also called Sharks, who decides whether to invest in the company.

"It’s truly amazing to be trusted by more than 250 corporate clients in just two years of commercialising our technology. Our special sanitary pad disposal bins and vending machines are already serving one million menstruators in the country. With the seed investment, we look forward to expanding our sustainable menstrual hygiene management services to residential buildings and communities. We have set up two sanitary waste material recovery centres now and aim to commission six more by the financial year 2023 (FY2023). We’re also working towards creating markets for reclaimed pulp and plastic," said Ajinkya Dhariya, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), PadCare.

PadCare was founded in 2018 by Ajinkya Dhariya with an aim to revolutionise India’s menstrual hygiene economy by making period choices sustainable without changing user preferences. Today, they are reportedly a team of 45, present in six metro cities in India. 

“There is a significant need to ensure that used sanitary pads are disposed of in a safe, hygienic and sustainable manner which current methods like incineration, composting, etc., do not address adequately. Padcare Labs is addressing forward and backward linkages related to menstrual waste management and enabling a circular economy,” observed Smita Rakesh, vice president (VP) and partner, Social Alpha. 

“PadCare’s sustainable sanitary waste processing and recycling fit well with our mission of combining technology and social impact for the benefit of communities at large. Our fund is instrumental in bringing global capital and markets to promising social entrepreneurs in India," added Kumar Ganapathy, co-founder or director of 3iPartners.