Living in Germany, rubbish sorting is a big part of daily life. Do it incorrectly and your neighbours won’t hesitate to correct you, and repeat offenders may even risk a fine.  But even in cities with collection systems, huge volumes of plastic, glass, metal, paper and cardboard end up in mixed waste and go straight to landfills or incineration. In fact, the European Environment Agency reports that the overall waste recycling rate in Europe remains below 50 per cent, meaning most municipal waste is still treated by landfill or incineration rather than recycling.​ Further, PlasticsEurope estimates that about 65 per cent of post‑consumer plastic waste collected in Europe is sent to landfill or incineration instead of being recycled, despite widespread separate collection systems.​ It’s bad. But now a Ukrainian startup called Recycle has found a way to turn trash into cash. It runs a platform (and app) called Recycle that helps people, businesses and estate/condominium associations turn sorted waste into income by selling recyclable materials. I met the company at a recent trip to Ukraine for TechChill Kyiv, where I sat down with co-founder Anton Ustimenko.   How an office sorting problem sparked Recycle Ustimenko originally comes from the game-development sector. In 2010, he launched an outsourcing company and secured several major contracts over the years.  Recycle is the consequence of a problem his team faced. He recalled: “We opened a very cool office in the city centre in Kyiv. And of course, we tried to sort our waste, and we couldn’t manage it efficiently.  But every problem for the IT sector is an opportunity. We started to investigate how the market works, and this is how Recycle was started.” Sell sorted waste in a few taps Recycle incentivises people to sort waste by paying them money.  “People buy packaging, so why should they have to pay again when they sort it? It’s real goods — they can sell it. But right now, people pay again, just for removal. But it has real value, and they can earn money,” shared Ustimenko. And it’s done through a simple, intuitive process. Ustimenko explained: “We make the process of selling recyclables very simple —it’s completed in just a few taps. You create an order, and all the recycling companies that want to buy it make bids. You choose the best price and agree. A  certified recycler then picks up the sorted waste and pays you for it. It’s very easy. They don’t have to deal with the complexity. We take that away.” Recycle currently has over 300 active clients. An example is homeware retailer Jysk, which has over 100 stores across Ukraine, and sells its recyclables through the app. The startup takes a commission from the transaction. Focusing on high-value streams: paper, PET, HDPE, metal and glass Because some materials are far easier and more profitable to recover than others, Recycle zeroes in on the highest-value streams first. “We work with waste paper and plastics — at the moment, two main types: PET (type 1) and HDPE (type 2) — as well as metal cans and glass. Essentially, anything that can be recycled,” he explained. “Polypropylene (PP) is a challenge. There are many different grades of PP, and it’s quite difficult for recycling companies to process. That’s why we’re currently looking for a solution. But even if people simply start sorting the two most common plastics separately from the start, it already makes a big difference.” In addition, Recycle aims to convince recycling companies that buying well-sorted waste is much cheaper than post-sorting.  “Even the 'yellow bins,’  where people put all plastics together, are too expensive to sort. So, separate sorting is key to real recycling. Anything else is not really recycling,” asserts Ustimenko. “Good traction and a good pace” Ustimenko admits, “I’ve never heard of a model like this either, but it works. And we gained traction very quickly. We’ve been operating for more than half a year, and I think we have good traction and a good pace. Our steady growth is around 20 per cent per month, sometimes even higher.” He plans that Recycle will become profitable in a year, and after that, "I think we’ll be interesting for investors. Every investor wants traction — real paying customers — not endless pilots that never convert. We have real clients. And we almost don’t have churn — maybe one or two clients stopped using us, but not because of any bad story. Their circumstances just changed.” The startup is currently operational only in Ukraine due to regulatory requirements. Ustimenko explained that going to another market will take a few months of preparation: “For every transaction and every deal, we have to generate all the documentation, ecological compliance and accounting compliance and adjust our app to local legislative requirements. It’s not a tough task, but it takes time." However, Recycle’s next goal is Poland, and then Bulgaria. The company also plans to keep scaling in the Ukrainian market.  Further, through its charity arm, Recycle has partnered with TiKO fund to launch a program called “Sort for the Children of Ukraine.” This initiative sets up sorting stations in schools and kindergartens. The waste collected is sold, and proceeds go to support children in orphanages, boarding homes, as well as children with disabilities or in palliative care. Lead image: freepik

Barclays is investing in United Fintech, joining four other big banks, which have invested in the fintech group. Barclays is joining Citi, Danske Bank, BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered which have invested in United Fintech. London-headquartered United Fintech, founded in 2020, acquires and scales fintechs across commercial banking and capital markets, as it looks to serve the needs of its financial clients. In total, it has acquired seven fintechs, including Cobalt, FairXchange, TTMZero, Athena Systems and NetDania. This year, it said it made its biggest purchase to date. Financial details of the strategic investment by Barclays in United Fintech, in which it will take a stake, were not disclosed. Barclays will now join United Fintech’s board of directors. The investment by Barclays will be used to fund further acquisitions. United Fintech has 11 offices including in London, New York, Copenhagen, Singapore and the UAE and employs more than 200 people. Christian Frahm, CEO, founder, United Fintech, said: “We are very excited to welcome Barclays as our fifth global bank investor. “With AI accelerating across financial services, industry-wide collaboration has never been more important. "With Barclays now onboard, we further strengthen our industry-wide adoption, and United Fintech is well on its way to becoming the trusted ecosystem for enabling that collaboration."

Berlin-based Mondu, a provider of B2B payment solutions, has secured a €100 million debt facility from J.P. Morgan Payments to scale its offering and support its expansion across Europe. Founded in 2021 by Malte Huffmann, Philipp Povel, and Gil Danziger, Mondu provides B2B payment solutions designed to simplify business transactions across Europe. With a focus on flexibility, convenience, and security, the company supports both online and offline payments, helping businesses improve growth and operational efficiency. Mondu holds an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license, enabling it to operate in all EU markets. Mondu has also joined the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network, through which it will offer its deferred payment solutions for accounts payable and receivable to J.P. Morgan Payments’ corporate clients in Europe via a referral program. The collaboration is intended to give these clients easier access to flexible payment options that can support cash flow, sales, and payment process efficiency. Philipp Povel, co-CEO of Mondu, said the company is excited to be partnering with an industry-leading institution like J.P. Morgan Payments: This debt facility and strategic collaboration are a significant validation of our business model and our vision to simplify the financial lives of businesses. The capital will allow us to accelerate our growth and support more businesses across Europe with our innovative B2B payment solutions. Joining the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network will be a great driver of our expansion in Europe, and we look forward to working with their team and customers. The B2B e-commerce market is expanding rapidly, with the European segment alone expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2025. Alongside this growth, demand for modern and flexible payment methods is increasing. The European Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market is projected to grow from $191.3 billion in 2025 to around $293.7 billion by 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.0 per cent. The collaboration between Mondu and J.P. Morgan Payments aims to address this trend by offering businesses enhanced financial flexibility and improved access to flexible B2B payment options throughout Europe.

A University of Cambridge quantum computing spinout, which is building the infrastructure needed for scaling quantum computers, says it has raised the largest ever quantum Series A in the UK.Nu Quantum has raised $60m in a funding round led by National Grid Partners, the VC unit of National Grid, with participation from Gresham House Ventures and Morpheus Ventures. Existing investors, including Amadeus Capital Partners, IQ Capital, Ahren Capital and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures also took part.Nu Quantum says the round was the largest quantum Series A in the UK to date. Quantum computing has long been touted as the next big technology wave. It can solve problems too difficult for normal computers and makes it possible to carry out complex calculations very quickly.Founded in 2018, Nu Quantum is a spinout of the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory. In 2023, the company raised £8.5 million pre-series A round.The company says quantum applications require systems that are thousands of times more powerful than those available today and that its networking architecture will unlock data centre-scale quantum computing by weaving together quantum processors to accelerate the path to transformational utility.It says it will use the funding for future product development and international expansion, including expanding its presence in Europe and the US.Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, founder, CEO, Nu Quantum, said: “When we launched seven years ago, very few were thinking about networked or distributed quantum computing as a strategy for scaling, but we saw it as one of the most urgent and challenging outstanding problems in the industry, and set out to solve it.“We’ve made great strides in shaping the market and the technology since then."Steve Smith, chief strategy and regulation officer, National Grid and president of National Grid Partners, said: “We are closer to quantum computing having an impact on businesses and lives than many people think.”