Article about Refurbly on Incubera:
In a mobile market that seems to be completely focused on selling new, the Örebro company Refurbly is going against the grain. The company offers used mobile phones, subscriptions and insurances in a comprehensive solution. With new capital from, among other things, the former Telia chief, founder CEO David Lundgren Fetah wants to find his own path for the company.
The market is ripe for a more sustainable alternative - both environmentally and financially, he believes. It shouldn't have to cost extra to choose green.
It is no exaggeration to say that David grew up in the electronics industry. His father, Damir Fetah, has run the companies PeCe-data and Mobilverkstan, well-known to Örebro residents, for many years - in periods with David as an employee. The background has not only given him good knowledge of business in general, but also the chance to discover new opportunities and vacant positions in the mobile market.
I got to know the industry from, you could say. The mobile market is based on buy, sell, buy, sell in a continuous cycle. The big brands are pushing hard to get their products out quickly and the retailers are often forced to play along in order to keep selling the most popular products. But the rectification also creates a gap for something else – and that's where I want to go with Refurbly, says David.
Instead of sending broken mobile phones away for repair, Refurbly has built up its own competence for repairs. Parts left over from some mobiles can be used for others. In the long run, David hopes to create a completely circular system. The company offers used mobile phones, an affordable subscription and insurance in a package solution. The end users are often children who get their first subscription, but of course other target groups also occur.
The overall solution and the combination of low-cost subscriptions linked to hardware make us unique on the market, says David. We are working purposefully to build our own circular brand within telecoms, at the same time we know that it is a challenge. For end users, mobile phone brands are often the most central.
This summer, the company raised close to SEK 6m in a new share issue led by former co-owners former Telia CEO Johan Dennelind, Jimmy Palmqvist and David Stenmarck from Epidemic Sound. This was the second time Refurbly took in external capital, in one year it is a total contribution of SEK 12 million.
We need the capital to grow, but just as important is the competence that we associate with the company, says David. I am proud and happy that we as an Örebro company have been able to attract risk capital from outside. I hope it can inspire others as well.
For a couple of weeks now, Refurbly has been part of the Swedish Scalups development program that Incubera runs together with a number of other incubators in eastern central Sweden.
We have also previously been an Incubera company for a period, so I have good experiences to lean on. We are on a journey and there is much we need to further develop. For example, we see great opportunities to increase our sales to the public sector. Another important area of development is a smart system for reclaiming mobile phones. Here is looking forward to a good dialogue with Incubera. There are many exciting things we can do together, says David.
