KOcycle wants to rewrite the IT disposal rulebook by making it quick and easy for organisations to donate used devices to charities and then measure the social impact.
The Braintree-based IT lifecycle services specialist today unveiled ‘Project KODI’, which allows charities to request up to five devices from its website free of charge.
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen, KOcycle MD Oli Mason said he needed the channel’s help to boost awareness for the scheme – which he hopes will eventually hand “tens of thousands” of devices to charities each year.
Crucially, the initiative enables enterprises and public sector organisations who donate devices to then measure their social impact (based on detailed follow-up questionnaires with charity recipients).
“I see a ‘D’ coming’
Although the IT disposition space is predicated on the ‘three Rs’ of recycle, reuse and resell, KOcycle is eager to shake this up with KODI, Mason said.
“The whole industry for years has just been talking about ‘Rs’, but I see a ‘D’ coming – and that’s ‘donate’,” Mason said.
“The client should have the autonomy to say ‘take the grade C and D stock no-one wants, harvest it, and then use that to offset your services… but then let’s donate the A stock to Project KODI’.
“We then hand those devices out and provide the social impact reporting back into the enterprise or public sector organisation that donates the tech. That allows them to quantify their giving. Particularly with CSRD [Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive] coming to the forefront, that’s a real game changer.”
“We’re quickly going to end that divide”
Despite the digital skills gap costing the UK £63bn a year, the government has “no credible strategy to tackle digital exclusion”, a select committee found in 2023.
“That’s baffling to me,” Mason said.
“So much tech is being wasted, yet at the same time we’ve got these devastating figures as reported by the UK parliament itself.
“I believe KODI can be the change in that.”
Having achieved seven years of growth – including a 90% revenue bump in its latest year ending 31 March 2025, KOcycle now processes 300,000 assets a year at its Braintree facility.
“Even if 10% of that went to great causes, we’re going to quickly end that divide,” Mason said.
KODI has already made an impact during its proof of concept phase with charities including Dogs for Autism, Hope Street, United Youth Alliance and Cicra – as well as many others.
“Insane” demand
Charities can request up to five devices using a request form on KOcycle’s new website following its black-and-white rebrand.
The volume of pre-launch requests has been “insane”, Mason said, with some 430 devices successfully placed with charities since the proof of concept began.
“That’s just from us speaking to our partners and seeing if they know of any great causes in need of tech donations,” he said.
But KOcycle – which Mason said sees IT lifecycle services “through the lens of the channel” – now needs the help of resellers and MSPs to raise Project KODI’s profile.
“If the client is asking about donating to a local cause, we want the partner to say, ‘there’s an offering for that in our partner network – and that’s KOcycle KODI,” he said.
“When we talk around digital inclusion and ending the digital divide, businesses really want to help. They just don’t want the burden of making the devices fit for purpose rather than passing e-waste/broken devices to good causes and then managing that from an ongoing perspective.
“KODI allows businesses to do that.
“It’s been a big passion of mine for a long time and one of those projects I’ve loved leading and has been heavily supported by our KOcyclers.”
Visit the KOcycle Content Zone here.
Find out more about KOcycle’s game-changing relaunch here.
This article was produced in association with KOcycle and is classified as partner content. What is partner content? See more here.
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
