Rahul Nainani

Co-Founder

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India10 yrs 8 mos experience

Highly Stable

Key Highlights

Led ReCircle to recover over 291,217 MT of waste.
Recognized by Fortune India 40 Under 40 in 2024.
Empowered over 3,608 Safai Saathis in India.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a leader in sustainable waste management and social entrepreneurship.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Sustainable DevelopmentBusiness StrategyBusiness DevelopmentSocial EntrepreneurshipCommunity Engagement

Other Skills

Business ModelingFinanceFinancial AnalysisInvestment BankingTeam ManagementPartnership ManagementNon-Profit ManagementScuba DivingEquity ResearchCapital MarketsPortfolio ManagementFinancial ModelingMicrosoft OfficeMarketing StrategySocial Media

About

Recovering India's 𝚆̶𝚊̶𝚜̶𝚝̶𝚎̶ Resources | CEO & Co-founder @ReCircle | Impact Entrepreneur | Speaker | Certified Scuba Diver Hi, I’m Rahul Nainani, and I’ve always believed that businesses can go beyond generating value to reshape systems. ReCircle was built with that belief. What started as a small idea has grown into a resource recovery enterprise working to close the loop on waste in India. Today, our work spans 310+ locations, where we’ve recovered 291,217+ MT of waste through a growing ecosystem of 3,608+ Safai Saathis, 470+ collection partners, and 45+ recycling partners. Together, they are the reason circular systems can function at scale. Alongside this, our non-profit arm, ReCircle Foundation, focuses on the people behind the system, strengthening the well-being, dignity and recognition of safai saathis across the value chain. My background is in finance (having cleared CFA Level III), and at ReCircle, I lead our efforts across strategy, partnerships, fundraising, and growth. Over the years, this has led to collaborations with organisations such as AEPW, GSMA, and UK Aid. Along our decade-long journey, our work has been recognised by Fortune Change the World (2025), ET Now Social Impact Entrepreneur of the Year (2025), Fortune India 40 Under 40 (2024), YourStory Tech30 (2024), and Businessworld Social Impact Leader in Recycling (2022). Circularity is a long journey. We’re still building.

Experience

10 yrs 8 mos

Total Experience

10 yrs 8 mos

Average Tenure

10 yrs 8 mos

Current Experience

Recircle

Co Founder & CEO

Aug 2015 – Present · 10 yrs 8 mos · Mumbai Area, India

Is our trash someone else’s problem?
This is exactly the mindset clean-tech innovators, Rahul Nainani & Gurashish Singh Sahni set out to change when they launched ReCircle in 2016.
Since inception, we have grown tremendously, both in scope and scale, having diverted over 169,000 MT (equivalent to the weight of 28,166 elephants) of waste across 270 cities & towns in India with the help of 45+ processing partners who have a pan-India network of 400 collection partners all while impacting the lives and livelihoods of over 3,100 Safai Saathis (waste workers).
We empower consumers and brands to divert waste away from landfills and oceans, back into the economy to be recycled, reused or repurposed.
With consumers;
We organise monthly dry waste collection drives in Mumbai. The collected waste is sent to our advanced material recovery facility in Dahisar.
For businesses;
At the heart of our traceable & ethical reverse supply chain, lies ClimaOne which offers end to end traceability for plastic credits, reporting for compliance, live data tracking, etc. to brand owners who want to go plastic neutral & use recycled plastic in their supply chain.
Progressive brands such as HUL, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, etc. choose us for their Extended Producer Responsibility needs, launching plastic neutral initiatives, establishing zero waste workspaces, orchestrating zero waste events & driving impactful sustainability projects.
We’re innovating to digitise the waste supply chain, create meaningful opportunities for informal waste workers, build a closed-loop system to extend the life cycle of ‘waste’ & empower India to move towards a circular future — one piece of trash at a time.
Backed by: Flipkart Ventures, 3i Partners, Acumen Fund Inc.
Supported by: UNDP, Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), GSMA, UK AID, Acumen Academy and DBS Foundation, among others.