{"id":9379,"date":"2017-09-26T12:51:02","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T12:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/fairphone-takes-7-7m-to-push-for-change-across-the-electronics-value-chain.html"},"modified":"2017-09-26T12:51:02","modified_gmt":"2017-09-26T12:51:02","slug":"fairphone-takes-7-7m-to-push-for-change-across-the-electronics-value-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/fairphone-takes-7-7m-to-push-for-change-across-the-electronics-value-chain.html","title":{"rendered":"Fairphone takes $7.7M to push for change across the electronics value chain"},"content":{"rendered":"


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European mobile device maker Fairphone, which designs modular smartphones<\/a> with the aim of supporting repairability and encouraging sustainability, has taken in new investment of \u20ac6.5 million ($7.7M). It says it\u2019s hoping to use the financing to build wider support for a push towards a circular economy for consumer electronics.<\/p>\n

Specifically it says it intends to use the money to scale up its proposition to try to have that wider impact.\u00a0Point is, it isn\u2019t easy building electronics with a longer than average lifespan. Consumer upgrade cycles are embedded into the entire supplier system, from hardware parts to software patches.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Fairphone had to end support for its first repairable-by-design handset this summer<\/a>. Owners of the device would only have had between two and 3.5 years\u2019 support in all, and the company took some flak for bowing out on the device given their mission is intended to support the opposite: electronics with longevity.<\/p>\n

Co-founder Bas van Abel\u00a0explained<\/a>\u00a0the decision as a consequence of Fairphone being unable to source hardware spare parts for the handset after suppliers shifted their business to keep up with industry cycles and retired the necessary spare parts.<\/p>\n

Another problem is that chipset manufacturers stop releasing software updates after a while \u2014 and Fairphone said the expense and difficulty of writing the necessary updates itself was not something it could afford to take on for the first handset.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is very little set up by the industry for sustainable production in its current state and we are working to change that,\u201d van Abel said at the time.<\/p>\n

The company had used a crowdfunding route to help them build that first device. But the realization they\u2019ve clearly come to is you can\u2019t just be a sustainable device maker on your own; you need to inspire an entire ecosystem to work towards the same goal.<\/p>\n

The new investment is therefore aimed at trying to scale its approach to building sustainable electronics \u201cthroughout the entire electronics value chain, including material sourcing, production, distribution and recycling\u201d. In short, creating a viable market \u201cfor fairer electronics\u201d means bringing along suppliers, as well as spiking enough consumer demand.<\/p>\n

The funding is coming from Pymwymic Impact Investing Cooperative<\/a>, which invests in companies with an environmental or social purpose and has two decades of experience doing so; along with another social impact investor,\u00a0DOEN Participaties<\/a>, the investment arm of the Dutch Postcode Lottery (and also an investor in Fairphone from the beginning); plus some unnamed others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn line with our ambitions to raise the bar in the electronics industry, we aim to increase our leverage with electronics suppliers to negotiate a healthier, more future-proof supply chain. This touches on a variety of issues, including the availability and lifespan of electronic components, the sourcing of Fairtrade gold and improving working conditions. By bringing these principles to the table, we can inspire an entire system change,\u201d\u00a0said van Abel in a statement.<\/p>\n

The company has also brought on a new managing director,\u00a0Eva Gouwens, and touts her experience in growing a social enterprise \u2014 \u201cboth in terms of organization as well as value chain impact\u201d.<\/p>\n

In terms of the size of its own community, Fairphone says it\u2019s sold its smartphones to more than 135,000\u00a0individuals\u00a0over\u00a0four years.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Article source: https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/09\/26\/fairphone-takes-7-7m-to-push-for-change-across-the-electronics-value-chain\/?ncid=rss<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

European mobile device maker Fairphone, which designs modular smartphones with the aim of supporting repairability and encouraging sustainability, has taken in new investment of \u20ac6.5 million ($7.7M). It says it\u2019s <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-9379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-networking-and-communication","tag-network-and-communication"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t