Biobased & Circular economy
Approach
Direct investmentDate
February 10, 2026Reading time
6 minutesShow that it can be different too. That was the idea behind the founding of Fairphone. Just over ten years later, the company is delivering the ‘most circular’ smartphone there is with the Fairphone (Gen. 6). Now, there is a strong growth ambition, supported by Invest-NL.
Fairphone initially did not start as a company, but as a campaign. The aim was to make consumers aware of the social and environmental problems surrounding smartphone production, and to push the industry towards change. Particularly achieving that last goal proved to be quite challenging.
'Then we just have to do it ourselves,' thought the initiators. Later that same year, the first 'fair smartphone' went into production, then still financed via crowdfunding. Since then, more than ten years have passed. The brand new Fairphone (Gen. 6) was launched on 25 June 2025, and under the name Fairbuds, fair headphones and earbuds are also sold. Fairphone is on its way to scaling significantly and continuing to grow.
Fairphone aims to reduce the negative impact on people and the environment throughout the entire production chain. Starting at the source, with the extraction of minerals such as gold and cobalt, which are often associated with exploitation, human rights violations, and armed conflicts in African countries. ‘We screen which areas and mining companies we work with,’ says Raymond van Eck, CEO of Fairphone. ‘We want conflict minerals and better working conditions, such as a oxygen pump in mine tunnels. Fairphone is the only smartphone manufacturer that uses Fairtrade-certified gold and is the initiator of the Fair Cobalt Alliance.’
Also in the Chinese factories where the Fairphones are produced, the company is committed to fair pay and good working conditions. ‘We pay factory workers monthly bonuses to bridge the wage gap and encourage good representation and for workers to have a voice. We also impose various sustainability requirements on our suppliers regarding energy and water use.’
Unlike the iPhone and Samsung smartphones, the Fairphone features a modular design with replaceable parts, making it easy to repair. By focusing on a long lifespan for the phone and using recycled components, Fairphone aims to help reduce e-waste: waste in the form of discarded electronics. Raymond: ‘E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream at the moment. Annually, 65 million tonnes of electronic devices are thrown away. That is comparable in weight to 100,000 jumbo jets. Every year, one and a half billion smartphones are produced, so there are now more phones on Earth than people.’ Fairphone is committed to collecting around 212 grams of electronic waste per Fairphone 5 sold, so that the device is ‘e-waste neutral’.
‘Every year, one and a half billion smartphones are made, so there are now more phones on Earth than people’
Raymond van EckCEO Fairphone
With its approach, Fairphone encourages other parties in the supply chain to also operate more responsibly. ‘Our suppliers and subsuppliers are committed to our ambition,’ says Raymond. ‘Not only because it is fairer. For example, people also see that labor productivity increases when workers are well compensated and treated well.’ Fairphone achieved the Platinum rating from EcoVadis a few years ago, a certification for sustainability in supply chains. This makes Fairphone one of the top 1 percent most sustainable companies worldwide.
Plenty of milestones, especially with the recent launch of the Fairphone (Gen. 6), but Fairphone is looking to the future: the company wants to grow. ‘It costs $20 extra to make a phone more sustainable,’ says Raymond. ‘We need economies of scale to absorb those costs.’
In its growth ambition, Fairphone has found a partner in Invest-NL. That seems a match made in heaven, but perseverance was needed before both companies could join forces.
‘Fairphone first approached us in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it would take years before we actually invested,’ says Elisabeth Storm de Grave, investment principal at Invest-NL.
‘A lot was happening on a macroeconomic level, Ukraine was invaded, Apple suddenly announced that they also wanted to operate circularly. Two investors withdrew from the consortium. We persisted because we strongly felt that Fairphone and Invest-NL were a good fit, and we searched for new investors.’
Fairphone already shows that they make a sustainable phone , but can also tell that it is a really good phone.
Elisabeth Storm de Graveinvestment principal Invest-NL
Ultimately, in 2023 an investment of €20 million was made, supplemented with €2 million in 2024. The funds are used as a foundation for the growth ambition and to increase the brand's visibility. Invest-NL not only supports its portfolio companies with capital but also with knowledge and expertise.
‘We have helped Fairphone establish a new management team and a new Supervisory Board,’ says Elisabeth. ‘We developed lists of criteria and recruited candidates from our network.’ And, equally important: Invest-NL also supplies phones to Fairphone for its employees, a B2B strategy that Fairphone is increasingly focusing on, and introduces the phone further into its network.
Invest-NL also considers the growth ambitions of Fairphone. Elisabeth: ‘Fairphone is now in the scaling phase. We assist in exploring what the company should focus on, among other things with value decision trees, to identify where growth is most feasible. We make introductions for Fairphone and explore how European funds can be attracted for further scaling. And we also contribute to a different positioning: Fairphone is already showing that they make a sustainable phone, but they can also start to say that it’s a good phone.’
Fairphone aims to quadruple its market share in its core markets by 2030. ‘Additionally, we can take even more steps towards full circularity,’ says Raymond. ‘Currently, 14 of the essential materials in the Fairphone are circular; we want to increase that to 23. A fully circular phone does not yet exist, but the Fairphone comes the closest.’
Elisabeth sees a ‘sea of opportunities’ for Fairphone. ‘In fact, Fairphone is still an undervalued proposition. The company is already leading the societal transition towards circularity, in the society that is emerging. Future legislation will place greater burdens on the use of newly extracted raw materials and resources, so if you already focus on a longer lifespan for your products and recycled materials, you are at an advantage. Additionally, Fairphone’s way of operating inspires the entire sector to innovate towards circularity.’
Raymond agrees. ‘Not bad at all, for a company that originated from a campaign. What I personally value most is that at Fairphone, sustainability is not just a marketing tactic that you add on afterwards. It’s the other way around: we originated from this idea, and it is embedded throughout the company. We show that it works: that sustainability and circularity can be successful business models.’
Elisabeth Storm de Grave
investment principal
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