Afri-Plastics Challenge

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In recent years, the demand for plastic has increased significantly in sub-Saharan Africa and is expected to follow the same trajectory in the coming decades. One of the most popular estimates points to 375% growth in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region combined Against a global average of 210% by 2060.

The Afri-Plastics Challenge aimed to help tackle this problem.

It was funded by the Government of Canada, and was part of an element of the $100-million Marine Litter Mitigation Fund announced by Prime Minister Trudeau at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Charlevoix in June 2018.

Partners

How did the Challenge work?

The Challenge aimed to reduce marine plastics in Sub-Saharan African countries by developing and scaling innovative solutions to plastic mismanagement. It involved a public competition that rewarded the best solutions to addressing marine plastic litter in developing countries, in a way that promoted gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

The Challenge was divided into three strands:

Strand 1 sought small and medium-sized enterprises that had a proof of concept and the ability to scale nationally or regionally to reach a high target number of people, particularly engaging women and girls.
Strand 2 sought the creation of new or the development of early-stage products, technology and/or services to encourage the reduction or elimination of plastic usage across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Strand 3 sought the creation of campaigns, schemes, tools and other creative interventions that will change both the behaviour of individuals and communities around plastic waste in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Interested in working with us on a challenge? Check out our priorities page to find out more

The judges

Dr Adenike Akinsemolu (Strand 1, 2 & 3)

Founder and Director – The Green Institute

Founder director of the Green Institute in Nigeria, Dr Akinsemolu is a passionate environmental educator and author on sustainability.

Dr Adenike Akinsemolu LinkedIn

Joshua Amponsem (Strand 3)

Founder and Managing Director, The Recycler Tanzania

Joshua leads the first community-led zero waste project in Ghana. He advocates climate-change adaptation, circular economy, and disaster risk reduction.

Joshua Amponsem LinkedIn

Adwoa Coleman (Strand 3)

Country Manager (Ghana), Dow

Adwoa has over 10 years experience in varied technical roles in the chemical manufacturing industry. She is currently focused on enabling a circular economy for plastics in Africa.

Adwoa Coleman LinkedIn

Matthew Haden

Founder and Managing Director, The Recycler Tanzania

Matthew is an expert in solid waste management and recycling with seven years experience in the private sector.

Matthew Haden LinkedIn

Jocelyne Landry Tsonang looks to the camera

Jocelyne Landry Tsonang (Strand 1)

Executive Team Member, African Circular Economy Network

Jocelyne is a Cameroonian entrepreneur. Driven by her Pan-African mindset, she has founded an association of young female leaders, Maluwa Africa, with some 100 members in 20 African countries.

Jocelyne Landry Tsonang LinkedIn

Radhia Mtonga (Strand 1, 2 & 3)

Social Enterprise Learning and Development Co-Ordinator – BongoHive

She is a Zambian social entrepreneur whose driving passions are social entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability and the circular economy.

Radhia Mtonga LinkedIn

Edward Mungai (Strand 1)

Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC)

Edward headed the regional office for the Danish International Investment Funds in Copenhagen and Africa. He has developed financing mechanisms for SMEs in agribusiness, energy and more.

Edward Mungai LinkedIn

Ida Nganga (Strand 1, 2 & 3)

Regional Head, Anglophone Countries for UNESCO Emerging Technologies

Ida leads the award-winning Regional Consortium for Development, whose experts use technology and engineering as an enabler for achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

Ida Nganga LinkedIn

Oliver Nudds (Strand 2)

Managing Director, Ocean Plastics Technologies

Oliver has successfully established distribution channels and sales solutions for multiple international brands and manufacturers over the past 30 years..

Oliver Nudds

40 incredible finalists across the three strands made it through to the final stage (15 in strand 1, 10 in strand 2 and 15 in strand 3), and demonstrated both a unique understanding of the problem and a dedication to tackling it.

After months of preparation for their pitches, nine winners from across sub-Saharan Africa were announced at the Afri-Plastics Summit and Awards in Nairobi and were awarded a total of £4.1 million (CA$6.7 million).

The winners

Strand 1 – Accelerating Growth

Green Industry Plast – Togo (Lomé, Togo)

Awarded £1 million

The GIP-Togo solution consists of setting up collection units and sorting facilities for plastic waste in Togo’s major cities, in collaboration with the local authorities. The purpose of this is to collect and recover plastic waste for recycling purposes.

Chanja Datti (Abuja, Nigeria)

Awarded £750,000

Chanja Datti’s solution is a technology driven in-house end-to-end process for plastics waste recycling by purchasing directly from our waste aggregators and waste pickers, who are some of society’s most marginalized people.

Mega Gas (Nairobi, Kenya)

Awarded £500,000

Mega Gas converts unsorted plastic waste into clean and affordable cooking gas through a patented process. The company’s main objective is to convert unsorted waste polythene/plastics that litter the environment into clean gaseous fuel.
Strand 2 – Creating Solutions

Chemolex (Nairobi, Kenya)

Awarded £750,000

Chemolex’s solution is a recyclable, reusable and 100% biodegradable material that completely replaces the use of single-use plastic polymers in food and product packaging as well as in manufacturing diapers.

EcoCoCo Homecare (Kilifi, Kenya)

Awarded £250,000

EcoCoCo Homecare is spearheading the development of EcoCoco, a range of multi-purpose everyday home care products (scouring pads scrubbing brushes and brooms) made from compostable natural coconut fibre.

Toto Safi (Kigali, Rwanda)

Awarded £100,000

Toto Safi’s solution is a reusable cloth diapers service so that parents do not have to choose between convenience and pollution. Through this app, parents will be able to receive a fresh bundle of sterilised and affordable cloth diapers.
Strand 3 – Promoting Change

Catharina Natang (Buea, Cameroon)

Awarded £250,000

Catharina Natang’s solution aims to provide training to fashion designers on sustainable fashion and resource mobilisation and equip local designers to understand the subtle but massive presence of plastic-based fabrics in the fashion industry.

Ukwenza VR (Nairobi, Kenya)

Awarded £250,000

Ukwenza VR uses a VR storytelling to showcase the journey of plastic after disposal with hopes to educate users on how plastic waste can end up damaging the environment and encourage people to take better care when disposing of plastic waste.

Baus Taka Enterprise (Mombasa, Kenya)

Awarded £250,000

The #StopPlasticPollution Campaign leverages a mobile App to promote segregation of plastic waste while raising awareness of responsible waste management practices through competitions with cash incentives.

Afri-Plastics Challenge