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.
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
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).