If the first personal computer you got assembled some 15 years ago is still hiding somewhere in the loft, it could now be professionally refurbished and passed on to someone of your choice.

This could also be done with a dead mobile phone, tablets, gamers and play stations.

Sensing refurbishing as a massive market potential that also addresses the crisis that is likely to arise from electronic waste in the future, Rahul Chowdhury, CEO and Co-Founder of Reboot Systems India, forayed into this untapped space in 2013. Since then his start up has made big strides and is currently on a major expansion drive.

“We have slowly and surely developed a strong network of partners and expect to consolidate further as we get into new areas, including Returns Processing Centres for large e-commerce sites,” he says.

Displaying a redone iPhone and Blackberry that he personally uses, he points to the huge untapped market. “There is hardly any player in the country who offers refurbished gadgets. These can be brought back to great shape and purchased at close to half the price.”

The country has a latent demand for 50 million PCs annually, with a big chunk of them coming from IT companies, corporate entities, government and schools who write off their value. In reality these are not useless. With an expert touch they could be turned as good as new and distributed to schools, voluntary organisations and customers at the bottom of the pyramid. “It could even be given to someone you wish,” he says.

A management graduate from Kellogg’s School, a serial entrepreneur and a Member on Board Hyderabad Angels, Rahul and his venture has resisted funding thus far. But as it scales up and expands, it might raise up to $25 million for the next phase of growth.

As a Microsoft-registered partner and refurbisher, Reboot also loads genuine software onto the PCs. “For those looking to dispose their electronic waste, refurbishing makes sense as it addresses disposal in a responsible manner and helps people make use of their assets. All they have to do is send us a mail, the rest is taken care of.”

Reboot has one technology centre in Gurgaon, a second in Gujarat and a third is being planned in either Hyderabad or Bangalore. “We have set up a chain of refurbishing logistics units across 14 states and expect to cover 25 states by March 2016. In order to ensure there are no concerns about data on the systems, we have partnered with global leader Data Wipe to clean up before it is handed over to the next party,” he says.

Reboot is also on the verge of tying up with large e-commerce sites that have special slots for selling second hands. One of the big challenges e-commerce sites face is with regard to returns of electronic assets like mobile phones, PCs, laptops and gaming consoles. “Our expertise in refurbishing will help us set up exclusive return processing centres for such sites.”

Reboot’s business model has become a case study in a number of B-Schools in India and abroad.

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