Nigeria - Startup under 3 years old

Décrivez votre projet en quelques mots

The project involves installing Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) in coastal cities across Nigeria to manage recyclable waste (plastics and cans) effectively and mitigate urban flooding by reducing the amount of these wastes that gets into the environment

01.01 Décrivez votre startup en détail

Ecobarter Technology designs and manufactures innovative, technology-enabled waste management devices that reward users for recycling. The company's vision is to bring sustainability to people and the planet by transforming how people consume and manage waste Our core product is a digital platform accessible via mobile or web app accessible at www.ecobarter.africa that enables users to request waste pickups and earn redeemable points, generating income for both users and waste workers. To complement our digital platform is our indigenous first-of-its-kind Reverse Vending Machine (RVM), which encourages on-the-go recycling. This not only encourages recycling but also significantly reduces plastic pollution and mitigates urban flooding by preventing waste blockages in drainage systems.

01.02 Quel est le problème principal que vous essayez de résoudre ?

According to the World Bank, Nigeria generates approximately 32 million tons of solid waste annually, with only 20-30% adequately managed. Ecobarter addresses Nigeria's critical waste management problem,where 70% of households lack access to formal systems, leading to open burning, dumping in open landfills or at best engaging the services of informal waste collectors. These prominent practices pose a significant threat to public health causing 100,000 child deaths yearly, as reported by UNICEF. Improper waste disposal creates mosquito breeding grounds contributing to Nigeria's high malaria burden, with almost 200,000 annual deaths. These practices not only impact public health but also escalate climate change risks such as flooding.

01.03 Dites-nous quels sont les principaux avantages et/ou bénéfices de l'utilisation du produit/service fourni par votre startup (au moins 3).

One of the major benefits of our solutions is it helps reduce the risks associated with climate change. We intercept the waste at source before it gets into our drainage system, thus reducing the chances of flooding. This also cuts down the amount of waste that ends up in landfills or gets burned, both of which produce harmful greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide. By encouraging recycling, we are able to process recyclables as raw materials for manufacturing companies thereby resulting in lower energy consumption compared to the energy required in production of new materials from virgin resources. Furthermore, our Waste Pickers Empowerment Program (WPEP) creates employment opportunities, particularly in the informal waste sector. By integrating informal waste pickers into the core of our operations, we formalize their roles and give them access to decent work.

01.04 Veuillez décrire précisément à qui s'adresse le produit/service de votre startup. Quels sont les bénéficiaires visés ?

We have three categories of target beneficiaries: the users, the collectors and the customers. The users are individuals, households, organizations and groups in urban and suburban communities who generate over 0.5kg of solid wastes or reuse/recycle less than 10% of their waste daily and are without access to a sustainable waste management infrastructure. The collectors are mostly underserved youths and women in urban and suburban communities who already work in the sanitation/waste industry but earn less than minimum wage and are often disenfranchised, without a clear path to transition out of poverty. The paying customers are manufacturing companies who use wastes as raw materials in their production chain and require a steady supply of non-contaminated, properly sorted post-consumer waste materials.

01.05 Quand votre entreprise a-t-elle été créée ?

07/03/2024

01.06 Vendez-vous déjà votre produit/service ?

Non

01.07 Combien y a-t-il de propriétaires de votre entreprise en plus de vous ?

1

01.08 Parmi les autres propriétaires, combien sont des femmes ?

1

01.09 Veuillez décrire le profil des autres propriétaires de votre startup (compétences, expérience, etc.).

Not applicable

01.10 Si vous avez un site web, une page sur les médias sociaux (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin...) ou une application, veuillez fournir le(s) lien(s) ici :

https://www.ecobarter.africa

01.11 Quel est le secteur d'activité qui décrit le mieux votre entreprise ?

Autre : Waste Management and Environmental Services

02.01.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Pas de pauvreté'

7 - tout à fait d'accord

02.01.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

Through our Waste Pickers Empowerment Program (WPEP) and Waste to Resource Empowerment (WREP) initiative, we have had a significant impact towards ending extreme poverty. WPEP encompasses the identification, training, and ongoing support of waste workers, beginning with a three-month literacy development program. After a successful completion of this program, we facilitate access to national identification registration, establishment of bank accounts, personal protective wear provision, providing a foundation for formalizing their roles. Through WREP, we train and support internally displaced women to transform single use plastic bags to fashion items in order to transition out of poverty. These training sessions cover various techniques, including local weaving methods, to create items such as bags, mats, and fashion accessories from single-use plastic bags. Once trained we also support these women in launching their micro-businesses by facilitating access to markets.

02.02.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Faim Zéro'

2

02.02.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.03.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Bonne Santé et Bien Être'

2

02.03.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.04.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Éducation de Qualité'

2

02.04.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.05.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Égalité entre les Sexes'

2

02.05.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.06.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Eau Propre et Assainissement'

3

02.06.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.07.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Énergie Propre et Abordable'

2

02.07.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.08.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Travail Décent et Croissance Économique'

7 - tout à fait d'accord

02.08.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

Through our Waste Pickers Empowerment Program (WPEP) and Waste to Resource Empowerment (WREP) initiative, we have had a significant impact towards ending extreme poverty. WPEP encompasses the identification, training, and ongoing support of waste workers, beginning with a three-month literacy development program. After a successful completion of this program, we facilitate access to national identification registration, establishment of bank accounts, personal protective wear provision, providing a foundation for formalizing their roles. Through WREP, we train and support internally displaced women to transform single use plastic bags to fashion items in order to transition out of poverty. These training sessions cover various techniques, including local weaving methods, to create items such as bags, mats, and fashion accessories from single-use plastic bags. Once trained we also support these women in launching their micro-businesses by facilitating access to markets.

02.09.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Industrie, Innovation et Infrastructure'

1 - pas du tout d'accord

02.09.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.10.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Réduction des Inégalités'

1 - pas du tout d'accord

02.10.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.11.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Villes et Communautés Durables'

4

02.11.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

Our solution contributes to creating sustainable cities and communities by preventing drainage blockages. By incentivizing waste recycling efforts we initiate a behavioural change that encourages people to embrace sustainable waste management practices. Our nip-in-the-bud approach also significantly reduces the occurrence of open burning and indiscriminate waste disposal, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and plays a role in preserving the air quality.

02.12.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Consommation et Production Responsables'

7 - tout à fait d'accord

02.12.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

Our solution greatly contributes to responsible consumption and production by processing sorted waste and selling recyclables to manufacturers, supporting a circular economy. This approach minimizes the waste sent to landfills, maximizes recycling and utilizes less natural resources such as fossil fuels for production of plastics

02.13.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Lutte contre les Changements Climatiques'

7 - tout à fait d'accord

02.13.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

The entirety of our startup is built on combating climate change and its impacts. In Nigeria, especially across the coastal cities, indiscriminate waste disposal makes them prone to flooding leading to loss of lives, properties and people being displaced from their communities. We tackle this by making sure we collect the waste post-consumption from the source. Through our platforms we also educate and raise awareness on climate change mitigation and adaptation practices to embrace.

02.14.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Vie Sous-Marine'

1 - pas du tout d'accord

02.14.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.15.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Vie Terrestre'

1 -pas du tout d'accord

02.15.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.16.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Paix, Justice et Institutions Efficaces'

2

02.16.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

02.17.01 Ma startup contribue à l'objectif 'Parteneriats pour la Réalisation des Objectifs'

1 - pas du tout d'accord

02.17.02 Justification de la contribution de ma startup

06.01 Un grand nombre de clients utilisent déjà un produit/service très similaire au nôtre.

5

06.02 Notre produit/service représente un type de produit/service entièrement nouveau

4

06.03 Notre produit/service pourrait être décrit comme une nouvelle technologie

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

06.04 Notre produit/service est une amélioration d'un produit ou d'un service existant

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

06.05 Notre produit/service pourrait être décrit comme une extension d'une gamme de produits ou de services

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

06.06 Notre produit/service répond à une demande ou à un besoin qui n'a pas été satisfait par d'autres produits/services.

3

06.07 Notre produit/service est une nouvelle version d'un ancien produit/service

4

06.08 Justification

While there are existing solutions to waste management, our reverse vending machine (RVM) is entirely new in the Nigeria space. This serves as a new technology in the region to improve on our already existing digital platform as well as other solutions available. The RVM is intended to encourage on-the-go recycling

06.09 Analyse compétitive

Chanja Datti leverages door-step incentive-based collection systems in different cities in Nigeria and also builds collection hubs to improve their recovery. However, their operations are majorly manual and they depend largely on the informal collectors for their recovery bottom line. Pakam and Scrapays although they have a technology platform that connects household waste generators to registered recycling collection companies. They do not have recycling collection infrastructure but rely on the enrollment of recycling companies to meet demands from users, often leading to long delays in fulfilling user requests. In contrast, our digital platform provides seamless doorstep waste pickups, connecting users with last-mile collectors within a 1km radius for fast and efficient service. We are also committed to social inclusion by empowering last-mile waste collectors to transition out of poverty. We also recently launched our RVMs to encourage on-the-go recycling

11.05 Menez-vous des actions au sein de votre communauté pour promouvoir le rôle des femmes entrepreneurs ?

Through WREP, we train and support internally displaced women to transform single-use plastic bags to fashion items in order to transition out of poverty. These training sessions cover various techniques, including local weaving methods, to create items such as bags, mats, and fashion accessories from single-use plastic bags. Once trained we also support these women in launching their micro-businesses by facilitating access to markets, helping these women sell their products and earn a stable. These women who typically earn between 0 and 33 USD monthly, after completing this training, each woman is expected to earn a minimum $100 monthly,