Rising Tide Africa, a women-led pan-African angel investment network, has allocated up to $1 million to Ororo Waste Management to expand Nigeria’s used cooking oil collection infrastructure and integrate informal collectors into the formal economy. The investment, equivalent to N1.4 billion, aims to scale Ororo’s operations, which currently manage 5,000 formally paid collectors and three hubs in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. The funding will support expanding to over 40 hubs nationwide and formalizing 200,000 collectors by 2031, with women comprising at least half of new collection points.
Nigeria generates approximately 840,000 metric tonnes of used cooking oil annually, but over 95% remains uncollected, posing environmental and public health risks. Ororo’s initiative seeks to address this gap by creating a traceable supply chain, leveraging GPS and QR-code tracking to ensure documented, ISCC-certified volumes for international biofuel and sustainable aviation fuel markets. The company has already exported thousands of tonnes without quality rejections, aligning with Europe’s renewable energy mandates under the revised Renewable Energy Directive.
The investment, disbursed in two tranches with the first on September 16 and potential additional funding by December 16, targets infrastructure upgrades, including drums, trucks, and storage facilities. Ororo’s co-CEO, Ayo Banjo, emphasized the need for certified volumes, stating, “Refiners in Europe don’t buy good intentions – they buy documented, ISCC-certified tonnes.” The company’s ISCC certification and partnerships with global refiners position it to meet growing demand for waste-based feedstocks.
Yemi Keri, co-founder of Rising Tide Africa, highlighted the gender-focused approach, noting that women and waste pickers historically perform informal collection work with limited compensation. The investment aims to formalize their roles, ensuring same-day payments via mobile money and integrating them into international supply chains. Ororo’s expansion includes training 250 market women, waste pickers, and youths in Lagos, covering safe handling, traceability, and the oil’s use in sustainable fuels.
The project’s success hinges on overcoming Nigeria’s challenge of capturing used cooking oil, which often ends up in drains, exacerbating flooding and food safety issues. Ororo’s strategy involves formalizing the fragmented supply chain, with plans to report annual income and employment outcomes for participants as part of its ESG reporting. The company also intends to conduct an income survey of its first formally onboarded collector group by year’s end.
Rising Tide Africa, founded in 2016, has invested in 39 early-stage companies across sectors like fintech and climate tech. This latest move aligns with its gender-lens investment model, targeting underrepresented groups in the circular economy. Ororo’s five-year targets include increasing certified used cooking oil collection from thousands of tonnes to 150,000 annually by 2031, representing 18% of Nigeria’s total output.
The initiative underscores Nigeria’s potential to capitalize on global renewable energy trends while addressing local environmental and economic challenges. By formalizing waste collection, Ororo and Rising Tide Africa aim to transform a largely informal sector into a sustainable, inclusive industry, with implications for climate resilience, job creation, and international trade.
Nigeria's $1M Push to Formalize 840,000-Tonne Cooking Oil Waste Market