About us
Nature has always been the starting point of our research and development.
Environmental challenges affect us every day, which is why we hold to a clear mission: to answer what the planet needs and to build the future we imagine. That goal makes us look closely both at the planet we live on today and at the world we will leave to the generations after us. We cannot manufacture more of the Earth’s finite resources. But with technologies that are responsible towards people and towards the planet, we believe it is possible to draw on the full potential of nature.
We believe that materials inspired by nature can help build a better tomorrow. That is why we will go on making use of what nature gives us, to sustain life and to look after a more sustainable future for our planet.
Our story
“I wanted to help the families who suffer from drought.” That idea led our founder to develop a superabsorbent polymer that is 100 % natural in origin.
Narayan Lal Gurjar, founder of EF Polymer, was born and raised in a farming village of about 300 people in Rajasthan, India, a semi-arid region where almost all the year’s rain falls in the three months of the monsoon. The son of farmers, he saw from childhood how a dry season left his family and his neighbours without a harvest, and how the wells dropped year after year. “One day I want to help my parents and the people of my village overcome the lack of water.”
He studied agricultural engineering and, looking for a material that would hold water at the root without contaminating the soil, he found the fruit waste being thrown away in his region: orange and banana peel, rich in pectin. Out of that came a superabsorbent polymer that is 100 % natural in origin. The first trials were run on the plots of his own village; in 2018 the company was incorporated in India, and in 2019 he was selected for the accelerator programme of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan, from where EF Polymer grew into what it is today.
Our commitment
We are committed to creating new value out of under-used resources and to helping build a society in which materials stay in circulation. By exploring the full potential of sustainable materials and developing solutions that serve everyday life as well as industry, we want to contribute to a better future.
EF Polymer will go on taking up the challenge of transforming society through materials.
Our business
EF Polymer builds its business on a naturally derived polymer technology that reduces environmental impact and supports the long-term sustainability of industry.
Beyond developing products, we help companies leave petroleum-derived superabsorbent polymers behind and create circular models that use the resources available in each territory. That is how we turn the potential of natural materials into real value for industry.
Our technology helps reduce the use of water and fertiliser and steady the harvest, contributing to more sustainable farming. We are also extending its applications into other fields: cosmetics, hygiene products and consumer goods.
We support companies in moving from conventional synthetic superabsorbent polymers to alternatives that are 100 % natural in origin. By reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainable materials, we help them advance their green transformation (GX).
We give value back to agricultural waste that would otherwise be thrown away, in order to build circular ecosystems. Keeping local resources in circulation within the communities that produce them lets us develop sustainable models rooted in each territory.
Team
Founder and CEO
Born in Rajasthan, India, he studied agricultural engineering. In 2019 he moved to Japan on being selected for the accelerator programme of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), where he went on to found EF Polymer.
Board member, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Co-founder of EF Polymer and from the same village as Narayan. He runs operations in India and international business development across the Middle East, South-East Asia and Africa.
Board member, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
A certified public accountant in Japan, with experience at one of the Big Four audit firms and at OIST. At EF Polymer he oversees all corporate functions, including finance and accounting.
Co-founder and Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO)
Co-founder of EF Polymer. In India he leads partnerships with companies and public bodies and the launch of new businesses, such as construction materials and coconut fibre.
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
With a background in marketing and communications in the Japanese electronics and automotive industries and at OIST. He leads marketing strategy and business development in non-agricultural applications: consumer goods and cosmetics.
Track record
EF Polymer incorporates its legal entity in India and makes its first pilot sales in the country.
The head office is established in Okinawa, Japan. Sales begin in India.
Sales begin in Japan. A 40 million yen seed round with MTG Ventures, Yosemite LLC, Beyond Next Ventures and the investor Tatsuya Suzuki.
A 550 million yen Series A round. Sales begin in the United States. Launch of an environmentally friendly cold pack made with EF Polymer.
Expansion of the manufacturing plant in India and reinforcement of production capacity. Sales begin in France and the product enters DIY and garden stores in Japan. Launch of a thickener for cosmetic applications.
A Series B round totalling 2.6 billion yen. 7,000 cumulative tonnes of agricultural waste given new value, turned from a wasted resource into useful material.
Company details
| Name | EF Polymer K.K. |
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| Founded | 30 March 2020 |
| Head office | Innovation Square Incubator, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan |
| Founder and CEO | Narayan Lal Gurjar |
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| Employees | Around 110 people across the group |
| Main shareholders | Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd. (UMI), MTG Ventures, Impact Capital, Japan Green Investment Corp. for Carbon Neutrality (JICN), Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., TOPPAN Inc., among others |
