Meet the Circular Economy Leaders: Hexpressions

We, at Circular Economy Catalyst, are thrilled to present “Circular Economy Champions” - a brand-new articles series to feature some of the most exciting circular enterprises and let them share about their unique vision, approach and stories.

In this part of the series we will examine an exciting case of Hexpressions, an enterprise dedicated to providing affordable and sustainable homes to underserved communities and using composite paper honeycomb panels, which offer a fast and modular construction solution. Together with Abhimanyu Singh, CEO & Co-founder, we are taking a deep dive to realise how Hexpressions became an example of a circular economy leader.

Setting Noble Goals

“Hexpressions started as a social impact venture to create disruptive change in society through innovative design ideas. We believe that disruptive design ideas can bring a significant revolution in society”, says Abhimanyu Singh.

The team of Hexpressions has set a clear goal for itself, which is to provide affordable housing to those in need in India. Naturally, the team has aligned their vision and objective with the ambitious scheme of "Housing for all" introduced by the Indian government. This enabled Hexpressions to contribute to the benchmarks of rural economic development through providing uniquely sustainable, modular and affordable housing.

“It is not only a project but our duty towards society to make housing affordable and sustainable for not only communities but also the planet. We want to scale this start-up globally where we aim to eradicate homelessness and the housing affordability crisis”, claims Hexpressions CEO.

Making the Next Step in a Conservative Market

The team strongly believes in unique capabilities of their methods and materials, as they introduced a material which can revolutionise the construction industry by reducing its massive carbon footprint. Yet, as any innovative business idea, Hexpressions decision to use new-age materials in construction is a risk in itself, as the level of awareness and trust in such new materials on the market has to be raised.

Abhimanyu Singh is convinced that the enterprise has clear approach to overcoming such difficulties: 

“Unlike other industries construction industry is still very conservative and traditional. To overcome this and introduce a new-age material and technique will be very crucial to us. We plan to create an awareness programme about the material and its properties to mitigate the above-mentioned risks. It will not only create more faith in the people's minds but also give us a lot more confidence to take it forward.”

Innovations Need to Be Fostered

Abhimanyu Singh thinks that circular small and medium businesses (SMEs) require support along different stages of their development, as they currently represent relatively low, but grooving part of the market. „Circularity is more a behavioural change and it takes time. During this long and tedious process SMEs need to survive and thrive, hence need both capital and policy level support from the government and impact organisations like adelphi and the IKEA foundation”, he says. 

Such support can be crucial in strengthening visibility, financial support and business model refinement according to the CEO of Hexpressions. Sometimes an outside look and a new perspective in combination with the new tools enables SMEs to revaluate certain aspects of their business models and improve their approach.

Abhimanyu Singh also believes that collaboration with adelphi’s Circular Economy Catalyst has been a crucial highlight of Hexpressions journay so far. “This has not only given us a lot of visibility but also the kind of support we got from the workshops is unparalleled. One of the biggest highlights of the curated workshop are refinement of the business model and Sales funnel improvement. Now we have better clarity of our target customers and we can now curate customised solutions for our different set of customer segments”, he states.

What’s Next for Hexpressions?

“We are looking to impact the lives of 10,000 households in the next 60 months. We also aim to train 300 unskilled labourers who can become skilled workers and help us in the upcoming construction projects. This will certainly positively impact the rural economy”, says Abhimanyu Singh.

At the same time Hexpressions will be looking to expend their team and move forward in their journey to decarbonising the construction industry by using sustainable construction practices and raising awareness in the construction industry about circular practices.