After months of preparation for their pitches, the nine winners from across sub-Saharan Africa of the Afri-Plastics Challenge have been announced at the Afri-Plastics Summit and Awards in Nairobi! In partnership with the Government of Canada and Challenge Works, today the Challenge awards £4.1 million (CA$6.7 million) to innovators with scalable innovations that tackle plastic waste and reduce the volume of pollution making its way to the ocean.
Strand 1 teams have existing solutions that are improving plastic waste management in a socially and environmentally responsible way, to reduce the presence of marine plastic litter across Sub-Saharan Africa. These solutions demonstrated an effective, sustainable and replicable model for significantly increasing their collection and processing of plastic waste, as well as the empowerment of women and girls.
Strand 2 teams work on the development of early-stage products, technology and/or services to encourage the reduction or elimination of plastic usage across Sub-Saharan Africa. Their solutions demonstrated a sustainable approach to reducing the reliance on plastic that also supports the empowerment of women and girls.
Strand 3 teams created campaigns, schemes, tools and other creative interventions that will change both the behaviour of individuals and communities around plastic waste in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as contribute to the empowerment of women and girls.