The winners of the Afri-Plastics Challenge
En françaisInnovators focussed on recycling solutions reported a 113% increase in monthly collecting and processing during the prize. In the long-term, the development and scaling of the innovators’ solutions will lead to the creation of new, sustainable local enterprises, creating alternatives to single-use plastics and improving collection and processing of waste.
The Afri-Plastics Challenge, run by innovation prize experts Challenge Works, is scaling solutions to the scourge of plastic pollution in sub-Saharan Africa thanks to funding from the Government of Canada. The challenge comprises three strands to take on the problem on multiple fronts.
- Strand 1 – Accelerating Growth – rewarding innovative solutions to managing plastic waste after it has been used and discarded (i.e. downstream solutions). Total prize money of £2.25 million.
- Strand 2 – Creating Solutions – rewarding innovative solutions to reducing the volume of plastic in packaging and other products before it is used (i.e. upstream solutions). Total Prize money of £1.1 million.
- Strand 3 – Promoting Change – rewarding creative campaigns and projects to influence behaviour change among individuals and communities to promote sustainable consumption around plastic. Total prize money of £750,000.
Accelerating Growth - Strand 1 Winners
Awarded £1 million
Green Industry Plast – Togo (Lomé, Togo)
“We want to equip every stakeholder in the city’s living environment – from City Hall to private citizens – with the tools to recycle to improve public health and living conditions.”
Awarded £750,000
Chanja Datti (Abuja, Nigeria)
“Our aim is to establish a series of recycling hubs across northern Nigeria, building on our success in Abuja. The collected plastics will be processed and sold as post-consumer recycled plastics to plastics manufacturers for use by large bottle-to-bottle manufacturing companies.”
Creating Solutions - Strand 2 Winners
Awarded £750,000
Chemolex (Nairobi, Kenya)
“We currently supply more than 8,000 pieces of biodegradable bread bags and other customised packaging solutions, and have also developed biodegradable diapers and sanitary pads which are currently available in the Kenyan market.”
Awarded £250,000
EcoCoCo Homecare (Kilifi, Kenya)
“We are pioneering the plastic-free movement with a range of biodegradable coconut fibre products for daily use in homecare. These include dish scrubbers, brooms and brushes that are 100% plastic free and fully compostable.”
Awarded £100,000
Toto Safi (Kigali, Rwanda)
“We are a reusable cloth diaper service. It is a viable alternative for many parents who cannot afford disposable diapers, while also preventing a major source of land and marine pollution. Parents can order a package of reusable cloth diapers and accessories produced by local women tailors, access an affordable community-based, women-operated diaper laundry service and a wealth of trusted diapering and baby tips.”
Promoting Change - Strand 3 Winners
Awarded £250,000
Catharina Natang (Buea, Cameroon)
“Our ‘Addressing Plastics in Fashion Design’ program uses a training-empowerment-promotion model, and targets designers and aspiring designers, fashion schools, and laundromats. Participants receive training on how this contributes to the global challenge of plastic waste, guidance on innovative non-plastic alternatives they’re able to use instead and even how to establish and raise funding for ethical cooperatives.”
Awarded £250,000
Ukwenza VR (Nairobi, Kenya)
“We work to bridge the learning gap by providing immersive and engaging educational virtual reality (VR) content that complements the current educational systems in urban areas in Kenya. VR encourages problem solving, decision-making and behaviour change in both children and adults.”
Awarded £250,000
Baus Taka Enterprise (Mombasa, Kenya)
“The #StopPlasticPollution Campaign addresses this plastic mismanagement challenge at the source, to reduce marine plastic pollution. The Baus Taka mobile app is a platform to collect data on waste, and provide monetary incentives to members of the community who sort and trade their used plastic, which is then collected by Baus Taka and transported to recycling centres.”