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Key Takeaways
There is no shortage of promising circular innovation. Businesses are finding new ways to reduce waste, recover materials and keep resources in use for longer. Capital is flowing too. Over the past five years, around US$164 billion was invested in circular-economy business models globally.
Yet higher-impact solutions remain underfunded. According to KPMG’s Circularity Gap Report Finance, only 4.7% of that investment went to higher-impact design and production solutions, with much of the capital concentrated in more established, relatively low-impact activities such as repair and resale.
The imbalance points to a broader systemic problem: corporates, investors and innovators are each waiting for the others to take the first commercial step.
The underlying dynamic is familiar. Innovators need corporate partners willing to test and adopt new solutions. Corporates need confidence that those solutions can address real business needs without unacceptable cost or disruption. Investors want evidence of demand and commercial viability before committing capital. Each is looking for evidence from the others before moving.
Three market frictions reinforce this stalemate: a commercial evidence gap, as investors often perceive circular innovation as high-risk given fragmented success metrics and long investment cycles; adoption bottlenecks, as innovators struggle to commercialize while corporates face internal friction when adopting new solutions and concerns over cost and business disruption; and market adaptation risks, as rapid shifts in markets and regulation force companies to constantly reassess their circularity strategies.
Together, these frictions prevent many promising solutions from building the commercial track record needed to move from pilot to commercial adoption, finance and scale.
Left unresolved, these frictions could leave Asia Pacific ill-equipped to address the costs of its linear growth model. The region accounts for 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2023 UNESCAP report, while linear material use cost the region an estimated $28.8 trillion in lost value in 2025, per the Circularity Gap Report 2026. Beyond environmental and economic costs, the social toll is just as stark. The International Labour Organization reported that the region also hosts the majority of 74 million global informal waste workers, many in precarious, low-paid jobs, while a transition to higher-value circular systems could support more formal, better-quality employment.
“The real challenge is no longer simply generating more circular innovation,” said Patricia Heiberger, MARU’s Executive Director. “It is helping promising solutions address real commercial needs and find real-world adoption. Once that commercial value is proven, the pathway towards finance and scale becomes much more achievable. No startup, corporate or investor can build that pathway alone.”
As a demand-led circularity accelerator, MARU aims to mainstream circularity across Asia Pacific by making innovators more bankable. Our research identifies where corporate demand, credible circular solutions and financing pathways can meet. Our accelerator work turns those opportunities into pilots, commercial evidence and routes to scale. Our convening ensures stakeholders are aligned and that lessons are shared across the ecosystem. Partner with MARU to help turn circular ambition into action.