This archive report was first published on 25 November 2019.
Published on November 25, 2019, BESTSELLER FOUNDATION and Intellecap's Waste to Value Accelerator is set to inject $100,000 into African startups to help manage waste due to rapid urbanization and population growth.
The initiative aims to support and scale start-ups working to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste in East Africa.
According to Keiran Smith, founder and CEO of Mr Green Africa, waste management is a huge issue in Africa, with Kenya's capital, Nairobi, producing around 2,400 tonnes of waste per day, of which only 10% is recycled.
However, Smith notes that there are groups of people collecting and selling waste to survive, and his company, Mr Green Africa, gives pickers a premium price to make a higher, stable income and come out of poverty.
"We are able to offer a good price because we have an integrated process, which means we bypass the usual traders, sorters, and transporters – middlemen who all take a cut along the way," Smith said.
The selected start-ups will receive bespoke support and mentoring over a period of 6-9 months to strengthen their teams and business performance, and will also have the opportunity to pitch to BESTSELLER FOUNDATION and other investors for investments of up to $100,000.
