This UN Zero Waste Day hear from our Head of Marketing, Michelle Lowery, about our expansion into the world of waste and why it matters for climate action.
Q: Why waste management?
A: At Nexus for Development, we’re all about driving impact where it matters most. We’ve had great success financing clean energy and clean water projects, and that’s not changing. But the world is evolving, and so are the opportunities to make a difference.
Waste is a crisis we can’t ignore. It’s more than just cutting emissions, it’s about job creation, community health, and building a circular economy. Our expertise in financing clean energy and clean water projects translates perfectly into waste solutions.
For the past few years, our experts have been working on carbon-financed waste-to-biogas projects in Vietnam and Cambodia, and they’ve been a major success. That proved our model works and translates to other sectors, and now we’re actively expanding further into agricultural waste, plastic waste, and urban waste management, not just in Vietnam and Cambodia, but across Southeast Asia and Bangladesh.
Q: How do Pioneer Facility and Carbon Finance support waste enterprises?
A: We’ve got a dual approach that makes financing work for waste enterprises:
Pioneer Facility: Flexible debt financing for growth-stage climate enterprises tackling waste management. We’re particularly interested in businesses addressing agricultural waste, plastic recycling, and urban waste solutions, especially those creating social benefits like jobs and community empowerment.
Carbon Finance: We help waste management projects generate carbon credits, providing an additional revenue stream and unlocking carbon offset opportunities for businesses committed to net-zero goals.
By providing expertise in different financial models we’re helping waste-focused enterprises access the type of financing that will benefit their business and support their scaling ambitions to bring positive social and environmental changes.
Q: What types of waste projects are you financing?
A: We’re currently interested and set up to support a wide range of waste solutions, including:
Agricultural waste: Transforming crop residues into biochar, organic fertilizers, or renewable energy instead of burning them.
Plastic waste: Supporting innovative recycling of plastics
Urban waste management: Finding better ways to reduce landfill waste and turn trash into valuable resources.
And because impact is at the heart of everything we do, we prioritize projects that create jobs, are women-led or empower women and other marginalized communities, and drive sustainable change.
Q: What’s happening in agricultural waste?
A: Southeast Asia has a massive agricultural waste problem, millions of tons of crop residues are burned every year, releasing harmful emissions and wasting valuable resources.
We’re financing solutions that:
- Turn agricultural waste into biochar, which improves soil health and carbon sequestration.
- Convert crop residues into organic fertilizers or renewable energy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
- Create new income streams for farmers, helping improve rural livelihoods and food security.
It’s a win-win: less pollution, healthier soil, and better economic opportunities for farmers.
Q: What’s next for Nexus for Development in this space?
A: We’re just getting started. Our goal is to scale our impact across Southeast Asia by financing game-changing waste projects that align with our mission.
Here’s what’s coming next:
Expanding partnerships with waste management enterprises—if you’re working on an innovative solution, we want to hear from you!
Growing the Pioneer Facility portfolio with more waste-focused enterprises.
Scaling Carbon Finance to help more projects generate revenue through carbon credits.
We believe waste can be turned into a valuable resource, and we’re excited to be part of the transformation.
Got a waste management project in need of financing? Talk to us today.