Electronic waste is one of the fastest growing types of waste. With such an astonishing rate of e-waste being produced on a daily basis, companies around the world have been trying to come up with ways to deal with it and CompAsia, a Malaysian business is making an impact by recycling e-waste.
1. Founded in 2012 by Julius Lim
CompAsia were founded by Julius Lim when he decided to delve into the secondhand device market while working in an IT firm that sells new computers.
He found out that e-waste was an issue and users were having problems with disposing of their used computers. He also noticed that people change their phones almost one a year compared to PC once every four years – so the potential was actually there.
2. From computers to smartphones
In 2015, Julius Lim realised that smartphones business offered a much bigger space for them. Hence, he decided to venture into this space with his know-how skills gained from the computer business. Currently, CompAsia is in seven markets around the Southeast Asian region; Malaysia, Singapore, India, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
3. Investing on InstaCash
With the forecast that the secondary market is going to reach approximately USD39 billion in 2025 in global revenue, CompAsia extended their list of services with the investment of Jaipur-based re-commerce platform, InstaCash.
InstaCash is a platform that allows consumers to sell their devices directly to CompAsia. It allows consumers to trade-in their old smartphones through an app and gets paid instantly into their bank account once the device is collected.
4. Aim to sell more than 1 million refurbished devices
Back in 2015 when the business just started, CompAsia only managed to sell under 5,000 refurbished phones. This year, they aim to sell more than 1,000 million refurbished devices and target to sell 6 to 7 million devices in a year by 2020.
5. A significant player in the refurbished devices space in the market
CompAsia have grown from revenue of RM5 million to RM300 million in three years after moving into the smartphone space. They have successfully sold over 500,000 units in 2018 alone. To complement the growth, he is looking to expand further into the Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
As the founder of CompAsia, Julius Lim aims to revolutionise the way smartphones should be owned. Instead of worrying about upgrading and protecting their smart devices, consumers are treated to a simpler and safer experience.
To know more about CompAsia, you can check out their website and social media.
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