Enviu
Enviu is a Dutch non-profit venture-building studio that creates and scales impact companies across agrifood, textiles, mobility, and zero waste in Kenya, India, Indonesia, and the Netherlands, serving smallholder farmers, hospitality enterprises, and micro-retailers via a 12+ venture portfolio.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersRotterdam, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Enviu does
Enviu is a Dutch non-profit foundation (Stichting Enviu Nederland) operating since 2005 as a venture-building studio that creates and scales companies addressing systemic environmental and social challenges across four interconnected domains: Agrifood (East Africa), Textiles (India), Mobility (Netherlands), and Zero Waste (Indonesia and Netherlands). The organization runs a portfolio of 12+ active ventures that include SokoFresh (solar-powered cold storage and digital market linkage for 19,634+ Kenyan smallholder farmers), Alner (Indonesia's first tech-enabled reusable packaging system across 1,470+ warungs), Second Spin (textile waste diversion from 77 hotel partners across 10 Indian cities), The Good Felt (post-consumer textile waste into felt products), Marine Metals (circular ship recycling), Zawiri Foods and Shambani Pro (regenerative agrifood market access), Stymo (secondhand market platform), and others. Its underlying technology spans solar-powered cold chain infrastructure, deposit-return reusable packaging systems, circular textile processing, and digital platforms connecting producers to buyers, with each venture differentiated by an operational or distribution advantage rather than a proprietary software stack. Enviu's business model blends philanthropic grants from foundations (IKEA Foundation, H&M Foundation, Alwaleed Philanthropies, Flotilla Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Bayer Foundation, Adessium, Plastic Solutions Fund) with venture-level transaction-based revenue (pay-per-use cold storage, deposit-return packaging margins, textile processing fees) and blended-finance facilities (€6.6 million EU Interreg for INTERPOOL, $500,000 UNCDF loan to SokoFresh). Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales (hotels, hospitality venues) with channel partnerships (MSMEs, farmer organizations, warungs, distributors) across four countries. The organization is governed by a Supervisory Board including ex-WRAP and De'Longhi executives, and transitioned in 2026 to dual CEO leadership under Paul van der Linden and Dieuwertje Nelissen.
Enviu firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Enviu
- Legal name
- Stichting Enviu Nederland
- Website
- https://enviu.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Enviu is a Dutch non-profit venture-building studio that creates and scales impact companies across agrifood, textiles, mobility, and zero waste in Kenya, India, Indonesia, and the Netherlands, serving smallholder farmers, hospitality enterprises, and micro-retailers via a 12+ venture portfolio.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Enviu industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Impact Venture Building
- NAICS
- Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investors, Nec (6799)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Circular Economy & Sustainable Products (Reuse, Repair, Upcycling) (BPAGALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM), Sustainability, ESG & Climate Risk Advisory (BPAHAJAH)
Keywords
Where Enviu is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rotterdam
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices5 records
Markets served
Enviu business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Grants: Core funding from foundations and institutional donors to support venture building operations and program development. Accepts grants from philanthropic organizations including HM Foundation, IKEA Foundation, Alwaleed Philanthropies, and government-backed development funds.
- Program Grants: Funding directed to specific programs and initiatives within Enviu's four domains. Includes program grants for agrifood, zero waste, textiles, and mobility initiatives from institutional donors and foundations.
- Venture Funding: Grants and equity investments deployed into portfolio ventures. Enviu uses seed funding to launch ventures that generate their own revenue. Once self-sufficient, ventures scale independently. Also includes investments in new venture development.
- Cold Storage as a Service (SokoFresh): Pay-per-use cold storage service where farmers pay according to volume of produce stored. Capital cost of owning a solar-powered cold storage unit (~$30,000) is absorbed by the venture. Fees deducted from sold produce.
- Reusable Packaging Deposits (Alner): Deposit-return model for reusable bottles and containers. Consumers pay deposit which is refunded upon return. Venture generates revenue through product margins and logistics fees.
- Textile Waste Processing (Second Spin, The Good Felt): Revenue from processing hotel and institutional textile waste. Second Spin diverts linens from 77 hotel partners across 10 cities. The Good Felt transforms post-consumer textile waste into premium felt products for interior design and acoustic systems.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Pay-per-use cold storage for smallholder farmers |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Deposit-return reusable packaging |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Textile waste processing services |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Enviu product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Enviu is a venture-building studio that identifies systemic market gaps and builds, incubates and scales impact-driven companies across four interconnected domains: Agrifood, Textiles, Mobility and Zero Waste. The organization operates a portfolio of 12+ portfolio ventures (including SokoFresh solar cold storage in Kenya, Alner reusable packaging in Indonesia, Second Spin and The Good Felt textile-waste ventures in India, and Marine Metals ship recycling in the Netherlands) alongside cross-domain programs such as Closing the Loop and INTERPOOL. Enviu partners with philanthropic foundations, governments, MSMEs and corporations to deploy catalytic capital and seed funding that launches ventures designed to become self-sufficient while delivering measurable environmental and social outcomes.
Product overview
Enviu is a global venture-building studio that drives systemic change through building and scaling impact ventures across four domains: Agrifood (East Africa), Textiles (India), Mobility (Netherlands), and Zero Waste (Indonesia/Netherlands). The organization operates a portfolio of 12 active portfolio ventures plus exited, closed, and supported ventures. Key products include: Alner (reusable packaging in Indonesia), SokoFresh (solar cold storage in Kenya), Second Spin and The Good Felt (textile waste ventures in India), Marine Metals (ship recycling in Netherlands), Zawiri Foods and Shambani Pro (agrifood ventures in Kenya), plus cross-domain initiatives like Closing the Loop (textile waste program), Destination Zero Waste Bali, and INTERPOOL (EU glass reuse system). Each venture is designed to address critical environmental and social challenges while being scalable and market-driven.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Enviu Agrifood: Domain focused on regenerative, zero food loss chain serving resilient smallholder farmers and addressing climate change in East Africa.
- Enviu Textiles
- Enviu Zero Waste
- Enviu Mobility
Products and services
- Alner Tech-enabled reusable packaging system that replaces single-use plastics for daily household essentials (detergent, shampoo, food products) using a deposit-return model across a network of 1,470+ warungs and micro-retailers in Indonesia.
- SokoFresh Award-winning social enterprise providing first-mile solar-powered cold storage and digital market-linkage services to smallholder farmers and aggregators in Kenya, on a pay-per-use model.
- Second Spin Textile waste management venture that diverts institutional textile waste from hotels and landfills, providing additional revenue streams for waste workers and supplying material to circular manufacturers.
- The Good Felt Transforms low-quality post-consumer textile waste into premium felt panels by matting and condensing fibers for interior design, carpeting and acoustic systems.
- Marine Metals Circular ship-recycling venture operating a fully automated dismantling yard using wire-saw technology to safely recycle end-of-life vessels and supply high-quality scrap steel globally.
- Zawiri Foods Market-access venture connecting regenerative farmers in Kenya to stable buyers, helping them access inputs, credit and recurring income through structured pathways for herbs and spices.
- Shambani Pro Empowers smallholder farmers with farmgate micro-factories that reduce post-harvest loss and boost incomes through decentralized manufacturing and direct market connections.
- Stymo Building a secondhand market platform creating digital infrastructure for pre-owned goods circulation in India.
- Halisi Gro Sustainable food systems venture providing market access and climate-smart agriculture services for smallholder farmers in Kenya.
- Energy Floors Social enterprise humanizing the energy transition through creative technology and community engagement to build ventures that create impact through sustainable energy solutions.
- Savia Circular food systems venture focused on regenerative agriculture and impact-driven innovation in Chile.
- People's Pension Ghana-based fintech driving digital financial inclusion, payment innovation and tech solutions for underserved markets across Africa.
- INTERPOOL EU-funded 3.5-year initiative creating a unified cross-border reusable glass packaging system across Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, harmonising bottle formats, deposit levels and data standards.
- Closing the Loop Integrated Circular Textile Waste Management program diverting textile waste from landfills across 14 Indian cities and creating inclusive green livelihoods through market-ready circular ventures (Second Spin, The Good Felt, Stymo).
Quantifiable outcome
- 202,000 tonnes CO2-equivalent emissions avoided cumulatively by portfolio
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use Enviu
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Enviu technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Enviu partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Ellen MacArthur FoundationcoreCo-convened World Refill Day workshop in Jakarta alongside Plasticdiet Indonesia and Enviu, bringing together brands, government, distributors, and circular economy experts.
- Plasticdiet IndonesiacorePartnered with Enviu to convene stakeholders for World Refill Day workshop, addressing sachet waste challenge through reuse systems scaling.
- TRANSFORMcoreImpact accelerator led by Unilever, UK FCDO, and EY supporting Alner through decade-long program. Brings together corporates, donors, investors, and academics. Supported 140+ enterprises reaching 19M+ lives.
- EIT FoodcoreSelected Enviu as venture building partner for Seedbed Venture Catalyst programme, transforming early-stage food innovations into scalable, high-impact ventures in Europe.
- University of IndonesiasupportingResearch partner with AGUNI coalition, indicating switching to reuse could provide net economic benefit of approximately 1.5 trillion rupiah ($93 million) in Indonesia.
- One Acre FundsupportingSokoLink partnership backed by P4G, integrating thousands of Kenya farmers into global supply chain through SokoFresh market linkage.
- Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF)coreJoint initiative with Enviu on Closing the Loop program, building integrated Circular Textile Waste Management model. An Intellecap initiative.
- Saamuhika ShaktisupportingInitiative supporting circular textile waste management and waste worker empowerment in India, part of Closing the Loop program support.
- Slow Food KenyasupportingAgrifood training partner providing regenerative agriculture training to farmers like Gladys Kanegeni in Kirinyaga County, Kenya.
- Rainforest AlliancesupportingTraining partner for regenerative agriculture practices, supporting farmers transitioning from chemical inputs to sustainable methods.
- Circle EconomysupportingGlobal impact organization partnered with Enviu to unveil insights on measuring circularity in smallholder agricultural contexts.
- Pathé BioscopensupportingCollaboration with Dutch cinema chain to pioneer zero-waste cinema experience through sustainable reuse systems.
- Fair Resource FoundationcoreCore partner in INTERPOOL project, working with Enviu and 12 partners to create unified cross-border reusable glass system in Europe.
Scale indicators32 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Enviu competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Intellecap: India-based impact advisory and investment firm running CAIF (Enviu's Closing the Loop partner) and broader climate/inclusion programmes. Comparable in India textiles and circular-economy focus, but operates at a larger, advisor-led scale rather than as a venture studio.
Regional players
- DOEN Foundation: Dutch impact investor and venture backer supporting circular, inclusive, and creative enterprises. Shares Enviu's Dutch foundation roots and circular-economy thesis, but operates as a grant/equity investor rather than a hands-on venture builder.
Direct peers
- Novastar Ventures: East Africa-focused venture builder backing early-stage businesses serving low-income consumers. Direct peer to Enviu's Kenya agrifood work through SokoFresh, Shambani Pro, and Zawiri Foods, with overlapping geographies and customer segments.
- Acumen: Acumen operates a venture-building and impact-investment model targeting poverty and climate challenges in East Africa and South Asia, deploying philanthropic and patient capital into early-stage ventures. Highly comparable to Enviu's studio model, though Acumen is more capital-deployment-led and less multi-domain.
- Closed Loop Partners: US-based circular-economy investment platform building companies and funds across plastics, textiles, and food. Closest circular-economy pure-play peer to Enviu — similar venture-building DNA, but with a US-centric geography and stronger for-profit LP structure.
- Circulate Capital: Investment firm focused on preventing ocean plastic waste in South and Southeast Asia, backing circular-economy startups. Comparable to Enviu's Indonesia (Alner) and India (Second Spin) work in the plastics/waste prevention domain.
Others
- WRAP: UK-based circular-economy NGO working on food waste, textiles, and plastics. Closely aligned with Enviu's mission and a partner of Enviu board member Dr. Marcus Gover; comparable in sector scope but operates as a programme/policy body rather than a venture builder.
- Circle Economy: Amsterdam-based impact organisation driving the circular economy through data and tooling. Listed as an Enviu partner and shares the same Dutch circular-economy ecosystem, providing measurement and advisory, not direct venture building.
Emerging players
- Yunus Social Business: Berlin-based venture builder funding social enterprises addressing basic needs in emerging markets. Comparable to Enviu's venture-building methodology but with a narrower sector focus and smaller scale of operations.
- Sistema.bio: Mexico-based social enterprise producing modular biodigesters for smallholder farmers in emerging markets. Comparable to Enviu's agrifood/circular-economy portfolio in deploying technology to smallholders, though specialised in anaerobic digestion rather than cold-storage.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Enviu social profiles
Digital presenceEnviu financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Enviu leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Enviu funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Enviu M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Enviu
What does Enviu do?
Enviu is a venture-building studio that identifies systemic market gaps and builds, incubates and scales impact-driven companies across four interconnected domains: Agrifood, Textiles, Mobility and Zero Waste. The organization operates a portfolio of 12+ portfolio ventures (including SokoFresh solar cold storage in Kenya, Alner reusable packaging in Indonesia, Second Spin and The Good Felt textile-waste ventures in India, and Marine Metals ship recycling in the Netherlands) alongside cross-domain programs such as Closing the Loop and INTERPOOL. Enviu partners with philanthropic foundations, governments, MSMEs and corporations to deploy catalytic capital and seed funding that launches ventures designed to become self-sufficient while delivering measurable environmental and social outcomes.
Is Enviu a public or private company?
Enviu is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Enviu founded?
Enviu was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Enviu based?
Enviu is headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Enviu make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Philanthropic Grants are the primary driver. The others are program Grants, venture Funding, cold Storage as a Service (SokoFresh), reusable Packaging Deposits (Alner) and textile Waste Processing (Second Spin, The Good Felt).
Who are Enviu's main competitors?
Intellecap is listed as a broad incumbent. DOEN Foundation is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Novastar Ventures, Acumen, Closed Loop Partners and Circulate Capital. Others are WRAP and Circle Economy. Emerging players are Yunus Social Business and Sistema.bio.
Does Enviu have an API?
No public API is recorded for Enviu.
What industry is Enviu in?
Enviu's product category is Impact Venture Building. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAF, Circular Economy & Sustainable Products (Reuse, Repair, Upcycling), with a secondary code of BPADALAM, Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency. Its NAICS code is 81399 and its SIC code is 8742.