Interview on 23 July 2015 with Bilikiss Kola-Abiola, co-founder of WeCyclers (Nigeria)
Listen to our fascinating chat with Bilikiss about ecopreneurship in Africa and whether it is possible for a new generation of women entrepreneurs to operate financially viable businesses whilst remaining true to their core social and environmental values.
Bilikiss Adebiyi is an inspiring Nigerian social entrepreneur and founder of WeCyclers. Her company offers waste collection and recycling services to the Lagos informal settlements, where an estimated 66% of Lagosians live. As a part of the process, residents are offered an incentive for collecting their household waste which is picked up for free by Wecyclers using specially adapted bicycles. To create incentives among low-income households to participate, rewards are given to them for every kilogram recycled, via points sent by SMS. These points are then redeemable against goods they value, such as cell phone minutes or basic food items. The rewards have been funded in partnership with big brands such as Coca Cola and GlaxoSmithKline.