Abhay Deshpande (born 18 August 1971) is an Indian entrepreneur, technology businessman, and founder of Recykal, a digital waste management platform.
Early life and education.
Abhay Deshpande was born on 18 August 1971 in Parbhani, Maharashtra, India. He grew up in a middle-class family and pursued a career in technology and entrepreneurship. He earned a Bachelor's in Computer Science and Engineering in Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology (SGGSIET), Nanded.
Career.
In 1999, Abhay launched Malamall.com, an e-commerce platform in India focused on regional ethnic products. The Hyderabad-based marketplace offered items such as food, fashion, handicrafts, and wellness products from over 27 cities. In 2007, he founded MartJack, a SaaS-based multichannel e-commerce platform designed to help retailers create and manage online storefronts. The platform served over 250 brands, including Future Group, Walmart India, and Lulu Hypermarkets. MartJack was acquired by Capillary Technologies in 2015.
In 2016, Abhay established Recykal, a digital platform aimed at formalising the entire waste management ecosystem in India through holistic tech solutions and improving recycling practices. The company created a Circular Economy Managed Marketplace that enables stakeholders such as brands, consumers, recyclers, and waste collectors through a digitized system. Recykal raised $2 million in a pre-Series A round in 2019. In January 2022, it secured $22 million in a funding round led by Morgan Stanley India, with participation from Circulate Capital. 
The company implemented India's first digital Deposit Refund System (dDRS) in Uttarakhand. For it in 2022, this project received the Digital India Award 2022 from President Droupadi Murmu. In April 2024, his company raised an additional $13 million in a pre-Series B round led by 360 ONE Asset Management. At the same year, he was also honored by the India Circular Economy Forum (ICEF). 
In March 2025, Abhay Deshpande was named Ecopreneur of the Year by The Economic Times. He is also an independent director on the board of Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services, a fintech company focused on spend management and prepaid card technologies. He has made angel investments in startups such as Elchemy and Payswiff, the latter of which was acquired by Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company. Through T-Hub, a Hyderabad-based startup incubator, he has mentored entrepreneurs, particularly in building scalable SaaS services.