What Cataki does

Cataki is a Brazilian non-profit mobile platform, founded in 2017 and headquartered in São Paulo, that operates a two-sided marketplace connecting recyclable waste generators with independent waste pickers (catadores). Users schedule collection pickups through the iOS and Android app, with geolocation matching identifying nearby catadores; payment flows directly from the generator to the collector, with Cataki charging no disclosed platform fee. The company is operated under the Pimp My Carroca umbrella organization and is developed as an open, collaborative initiative using Node.js, React, HTML, and CSS.

The product portfolio extends beyond the core matchmaking app into two add-on programs: Cataki+, which connects individual catadores with recycling cooperatives and provides social support; and Cataki+ Longa Vida, launched in 2021 in partnership with Tetra Pak, which pays R$0.50/kg bonuses for recycled carton packaging, distributed over 4,500+ PPE kits and 608 basic food basket cards to participating catadores, and has recycled 129+ tonnes of carton packaging. Additional financial partners include Google (including Google for Startups, 2020), Nestlé Brasil, and Oak Investimentos. Operational scale spans 350,000+ app downloads and 1,500+ municipalities across Brazil.

Cataki's revenue model is non-transactional: the platform is free for users, money flows directly to catadores for collection services, and operating funding derives from voluntary contributions, volunteer labor, and corporate CSR/grant sponsorships. User profiles are manually validated by the Cataki team under LGPD (Brazil's General Personal Data Protection Law) compliance. No equity funding rounds or revenue figures are publicly disclosed, and the ownership structure is opaque beyond the operational tie to Pimp My Carroca.

Name

Cataki

Legal name

Cataki

Website

https://cataki.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cataki is a Brazilian non-profit mobile app that connects recyclable waste generators with independent waste pickers (catadores) across 1,500+ municipalities, and runs a Tetra Pak-backed carton packaging bonus program for participating collectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Parque Manaca

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Service Transaction Fees: Cataki connects waste generators with catadores for recycling pickup services. Users pay catadores directly for their collection service, with the platform facilitating the connection. While Cataki is described as non-profit, the platform may derive value from these transactions.
2. Cataki+ Longa Vida Bonus Program: Partnership with Tetra Pak provides financial bonuses (R$0.50 per kilogram) to catadores for recycling carton packaging, funded by the corporate partner. Catadores accumulate and redeem bonuses through the app.
3. Voluntary Contributions and Grants: Cataki operates as a non-profit initiative and relies on voluntary contributions, volunteer work, and resource gathering to fund operations. Also supported by corporate sponsors (Google, Nestlé, Oak, Tetra Pak).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cataki is a mobile application that connects recyclable waste generators (households and businesses) with independent waste pickers (catadores) across Brazil to schedule and conduct recycling pickups. The platform includes the Cataki+ social program that links catadores with cooperatives and provides support such as EPIs (Personal Protective Equipment) and food assistance, as well as the Cataki+ Longa Vida sub-program (in partnership with Tetra Pak) that pays catadores R$0.50 per kilogram for collecting carton packaging.

Product overview

Cataki is a mobile application that serves as a two-sided marketplace connecting recyclable waste generators with individual collectors (catadores). The core product includes the Cataki app for scheduling and coordinating waste collection. The portfolio includes Cataki+, a supplementary program providing social support and cooperative integration for collectors, and Cataki+ Longa Vida, a specialized carton packaging recycling initiative developed in partnership with Tetra Pak that offers financial incentives and EPIs to participating collectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cataki+: A program that strengthens and connects individual waste collectors with recycling cooperatives. Includes the Cataki+ Longa Vida sub-program in partnership with Tetra Pak, which provides financial bonuses, social support, and safety equipment (EPIs) to catadores participating in carton packaging recycling.
• Cataki+ Longa Vida

Products and services

• Cataki Mobile App Mobile application for iOS and Android that enables recyclable waste generators to find nearby catadores via geolocation, schedule pickup appointments, negotiate pricing directly, and rate collectors. Used by 350,000+ users across 1,500+ Brazilian municipalities.
• Cataki+ Program Program that links individual catadores with recycling cooperatives, integrates them into cooperative supply chains, and provides social support (EPIs, food baskets) and professional development to reduce precarious working conditions.
• Cataki+ Longa Vida Specialized program in partnership with Tetra Pak that pays catadores R$0.50 per kilogram of carton packaging recycled, distributes EPIs and food cards, and integrates 250+ participants into the carton packaging recycling chain through 5 consolidation points (cooperatives and partner scrap yards).

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of Brazil's recycled materials pass through catadores
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Tetra PakflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Tetra Pak partners with Cataki on the Cataki+ Longa Vida program, which incentivizes the recycling of carton packaging (milk cartons). Tetra Pak provides funding for financial bonuses (R$0.50 per kg) to catadores, socio-assistance support, and PPE items. This is a flagship partnership that has enabled 129+ tonnes of carton packaging recycling and R$33,600 in bonuses paid to 250 catadores since 2021.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Recyclix: Recyclix operates a recycling marketplace that connects households with waste collectors and pays users for sorted recyclables. It is a direct functional analog to Cataki's two-sided marketplace model in a different geography.
• Waste4Change: Waste4Change is an Indonesian waste management platform offering recycling collection, tracing, and ESG reporting services. It overlaps with Cataki on digitization of collection and producer-funded recycling programs.

Emerging players

• Olio: Olio is a neighborhood-sharing app that redistributes surplus food and household items, sharing Cataki's community-driven, app-based matchmaking between generators and informal collectors.
• Too Good To Go: Too Good To Go runs a marketplace app that connects consumers with businesses to rescue surplus food, applying the same two-sided surplus-recovery logic Cataki applies to recyclable materials.
• RecycleGO: RecycleGO offers recycling traceability and ESG data tools, overlapping with Cataki's emerging impact-tracking and producer-funded recycling verification capabilities.
• Litterati: Litterati is a data-driven platform that crowdsources litter and recycling data collection, comparable to Cataki's community-driven collection model and impact-calculation features.

Broad incumbents

• Rubicon Technologies: Rubicon provides software, hauler routing, and recycling traceability for waste generators and municipalities, representing a much larger, enterprise-focused incumbent in the digital waste space Cataki also addresses.
• Waste Management, Inc. Waste Management is the largest North American waste and recycling services provider and a reference point for what scaled, vertically-integrated recycling operations look like versus Cataki's grassroots model.
• Veolia: Veolia is a global environmental services and waste management incumbent that operates across collection, recycling, and circular economy services—the broader competitive backdrop against which Cataki positions itself.

Others

• Pimp My Carroca: Pimp My Carroca is the Brazilian social-impact organization that operates Cataki and shares the same mission, staff, and pimpmycarroca.com email domain—functionally the parent/operating entity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/catakiapp

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cataki