African countries have been leading in some IT applications: Kenya’s M-Pesa example of mobile payments and credits is the best known example. Another important app in Nigeria has just passed the pilot stage: Saviour Anyanwu has created an app to get households and waste collectors working together (see https://okwueco.com ).
“War Against Filth” was a programme of the Nigerian government in the 1980 to fight pollution. The government in the meantime has approved waste recycling plants in virtually every state in Nigeria, but many are not operational. Many people do not know about their existence or their location.
The app uses image recognition (like the BeachBot – see https://project.bb/) to educate households about recycling, and links them with merchants who pay for the waste with cash credits or air time through an online platform. The app’s inbuilt GPS helps merchants navigate the clogged streets of rapidly expanding cities, and directs them to various households’ sorted waste. The solid waste is then brought to recycling centres, helping to establish a circular economy in metals, plastics, paper and glass. The app will be available in dozens of Nigeria’s 200-plus languages. (See: https://africanbusinessmagazine.com/region/west-africa/startups-lead-the-way-on-recycling-in-west-africa/)
business from bottles 