Kipple graduated from Cambridge Social Ventures in March 2021.
Idea
Kipple provides returnable starter kits of home essentials to students relocating temporarily. The UN estimates that annually, 168 million young adults relocate for study or work – causing over 1.7 billion kilos of waste per year, often consisting of still useable kitchen and bedroom essentials.
To challenge the waste created by university students in the UK, Kipple offers a convenient and environmentally friendly solution of loaning essential homeware goods that can be returned when they are no longer needed. Kipple kits contain good quality kitchen and bedroom essentials and customers can choose between new and pre-owned options. These kits are used by students then returned, refurbished and re-assembled for further use. The quality of the products in the kits allows them to be used and shared for years by multiple owners instead of being dumped after one short-term use.
Having tested the model successfully in the East of England, Kipple is now expanding to other locations across the UK.
People
Kipple was co-founded by Jana Belovicova and Ismat Imaan, when as masters students at the University of East Anglia, they witnessed the huge amounts of waste being left behind by students at the end of term.
Prior to her second masters in international social development, where she examined the citizenship rights of marginalised communities, Jana has lived and worked in three continents and six countries. Having personally faced the challenges of temporary relocation, Jana oversees product and supply chain development at Kipple, further enabled by her LLM and corporate legal expertise in the infrastructure and technology sectors.
Ismat graduated with a masters in environmental assessment and management, after working extensively as a waste consultant with ecologists, businesses and governmental agencies. Having expertly navigated communication between a variety of stakeholders, Ismat is responsible for building partnerships and scaling strategy at Kipple.
Impact
Kipple’s mission is to challenge the waste generated by university students in the UK by offering a good quality, returnable starter kit of home essentials. They aim to achieve a 0% landfill diversion rate where all of the products which are currently being dumped by students are re-used, refurbished, remanufactured and then recycled if needed.
Disrupting the current home goods industry – Kipple aim to create positive social and environmental impact through their supply chain. They practice maximum resource reduction, end-to-end traceability and improve livelihoods for the people involved in their manufacturing and production processes.
They are in the process of establishing a UK-based refurbishment facility promoting repair-based skill development, creating incomes and reducing dependence on virgin materials.
Lead entrepreneur
Jana Belovicova and Ismat Imaan
Get in touch
Kipple are seeking collaboration with:
– universities, language learning centres and companies looking to reduce waste generation in their accommodation facilities
– suppliers with sustainably built, long-lasting essential products who want to expand their customer base
– investors interested in the circular economy and its competitive advantages in the startup sector.
kipple-uk.com
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