11.5 Current Trends: Green Ideas, Innovations and Businesses in Africa
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as learning from restoration. The local members of the community offer free labor
for some days by engaging in activities like vegetation, construction of check dams,
and afforestation. It has successfully led to the restoration of degraded land within
the highlands of Tigray and Amhara to productivity, increased the quantity of water
available for agriculture, and enhanced climate resilience. It has also been beneficial
for behavioral change, including the use of recycled groundwater for irrigating fields
and inclusion of marginalized communities within the program.
Find statistical data about the impact of the program on the country.
11.5.2.4 WeCyclers, Nigeria
Furthermore, an adventurous and new eco-spirit has emerged in sub-Saharan
Africa. Various young, inspirational Green entrepreneurs who remain committed
to ensuring that there is a difference to the continent’s sustainable future are
leading this movement. They possess an uncanny ability to unearth environmental
issues and rather than being bogged down, they find innovative solutions and
develop entrepreneurial opportunities. In Nigeria, Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola launched
WeCyclers in 2012 to solve trash collection (Hawken 2015). She started a viable
and sustainable business model that is currently helping impoverished communities
within Lagos to eliminate the waste and pollution problem.
WeCyclers enables poor communities to generate income from waste that piles
up in the streets. The organization utilizes cargo bicycles for collecting and recycling
unmanaged waste. The bicycles pick up various sachets, cans, and plastics from
homes. In addition, the residents get points through SMS depending on the number
of recyclables they collect. They can redeem these points for basic consumer
electronics and essential food items. The company then aggregates the waste to
sell to local recyclers. It is a highly effective and low technology, and yet a high
impact recycling scheme that benefits all those involved. By 2015, at least 5000
households had signed up, thus leading to the creation of employment for numerous
young people (Hawken 2015). There are also plans to roll out this initiative in other
Nigerian cities. The start-up can become a global case example for empowering
the community to be sustainable, wealthier as well as healthier lives. Discuss five
benefits of WeCyclers.
What are some of the challenges the start-up faces, and how can these
challenges be addressed?
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as learning from restoration. The local members of the community offer free labor
for some days by engaging in activities like vegetation, construction of check dams,
and afforestation. It has successfully led to the restoration of degraded land within
the highlands of Tigray and Amhara to productivity, increased the quantity of water
available for agriculture, and enhanced climate resilience. It has also been beneficial
for behavioral change, including the use of recycled groundwater for irrigating fields
and inclusion of marginalized communities within the program.
Find statistical data about the impact of the program on the country.
11.5.2.4 WeCyclers, Nigeria
Furthermore, an adventurous and new eco-spirit has emerged in sub-Saharan
Africa. Various young, inspirational Green entrepreneurs who remain committed
to ensuring that there is a difference to the continent’s sustainable future are
leading this movement. They possess an uncanny ability to unearth environmental
issues and rather than being bogged down, they find innovative solutions and
develop entrepreneurial opportunities. In Nigeria, Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola launched
WeCyclers in 2012 to solve trash collection (Hawken 2015). She started a viable
and sustainable business model that is currently helping impoverished communities
within Lagos to eliminate the waste and pollution problem.
WeCyclers enables poor communities to generate income from waste that piles
up in the streets. The organization utilizes cargo bicycles for collecting and recycling
unmanaged waste. The bicycles pick up various sachets, cans, and plastics from
homes. In addition, the residents get points through SMS depending on the number
of recyclables they collect. They can redeem these points for basic consumer
electronics and essential food items. The company then aggregates the waste to
sell to local recyclers. It is a highly effective and low technology, and yet a high
impact recycling scheme that benefits all those involved. By 2015, at least 5000
households had signed up, thus leading to the creation of employment for numerous
young people (Hawken 2015). There are also plans to roll out this initiative in other
Nigerian cities. The start-up can become a global case example for empowering
the community to be sustainable, wealthier as well as healthier lives. Discuss five
benefits of WeCyclers.
What are some of the challenges the start-up faces, and how can these
challenges be addressed?