Plastic waste is a significant problem globally, but particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Over 17 million tonnes of waste are generated by Sub-Saharan Africa annually; however, only 12% of plastic waste is recycled. The majority of plastic is either burned or dumped, with significant quantities entering rivers, streams and lakes and eventually making its way to the ocean.
Challenge Works, in partnership with the Government of Canada, is seeking new innovative solutions to help stop plastic pollution across sub-Saharan Africa. We are launching the CA$14.5 million Afri-Plastics Challenge.
The Afri-Plastics Challenge is calling on entrepreneurs with scalable and sustainable solutions to prevent plastic waste from entering the marine environment within sub-Saharan Africa. The challenge will involve three strands of activity, with the first strand launching today.
The drive for home-grown innovation in Africa has attracted several global firms and tech hubs to the continent. There is also a major rise in African entrepreneurs developing solutions that are effective and contextual to their environments. We are looking for founders, innovators and entrepreneurs with exciting concepts to alleviate the negative impacts of marine pollution on the environment.
Afri-Plastics Challenge’s first strand, Accelerating Growth, is encouraging entries from small and medium-sized enterprises with a proof of concept and the ability to scale nationally/regionally to reach a high target of people. From these applicants, 15 finalists and three winners will be selected.
Africa is slowly starting to recover from Covid-19, and innovation remains vital to economic growth, competitiveness and most importantly, health. SMEs can be a part of the solution because they are constantly innovating, pushing the boundaries of what is possible under much pressure and often with thin resources. We are convinced that African entrepreneurs have tangible solutions to meet the Afri-Plastics Challenge.