"I really believe this is the best time to be an African start up. This is Africa's time and we as Africans need to seize this opportunity to contribute our quotas to our respective countries."
- Bilikiss Adebiyi is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow and WeCyclers were a Sustainia100 Company Award winner in 2014.
Read moreGet networking....
"Network! Network! Network! I cannot stress the importance of networking. It is very vital to growing yourself and your business."
- Bilikiss Adebiyi is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow and WeCyclers were a Sustainia100 Company Award winner in 2014.
Read moreFor the second edition of the Smart Cities Innovation Awards held this past week, the French newspaper Le Monde thought big. Nigerian startup WeCyclers, co-founded by Bilikiss Adebiyi, the innovative startup that brings domestic waste collection and treatment to Nigeria through a fleet of cargo-bikes and a waste sorting hub, was awarded with the prestigious International Grand Prize at the awards event held in Singapore.
Read moreBelieve in your plan and stick to it....
" Believe in your idea even if other people are trying to convince you otherwise. It is great to incorporate people’s feedback into your work, but if you do not agree with them, stick with your plan."
- Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is also a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow.
Read more"Do not be afraid of failure. Live and take risks. If you stay in your safe zone, you won’t learn enough."
- Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow and WeCyclers were a Sustainia100 Company Award winner in 2014.
Read moreThe easiest way to get funding is to build a great team....
"You will be surprised at how quickly your idea will take off when you have a solid group of people that are equally passionate about it. Also, like our parents say, two or more heads are better than one. The diversity as well as the expanded network will amplify your chances of funding the venture."
- Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is also a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow.
Read more“Waste management is one of the main problems for poor populations in Nigeria. We want to create a system that would mean waste is no longer a problem, but a solution for everyone.”
- Bilikiss Adebiyi is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow and WeCyclers were a Sustainia100 Company Award winner in 2014.
Read moreBilikiss Adebiyi, co-founder and CEO of Wecyclers in Nigeria talks about how the idea for her business started in an MIT class; how the service works; the incentives people receive to recycle; how it works financially for this social enterprise; and her ambitions for the business.
Read more"To improve innovation in Africa, we need to invest more in education. You cannot innovate when you do not have a good education."
- Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is also a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow.
Read moreAt the global climate conference held in Paris earlier this year, Deutsche Welle and Channels TV agreed to deepen their cooperation by starting the joint production of an environmental program called Eco@Africa. The new program offers an in-depth look at environmental innovations and best-practice guidelines in Africa and Europe and presents ideas on ecological protection from all over the world. DW and Channels TV used the event, which was broadcast in Nigeria at prime time, to pay tribute to “Eco Heroes”, which included Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, co-founder of WeCyclers.
Read moreTo commemorate Earth Day on 21 April, Nigeria’s inspirational social entrepreneur, Bilikiss Abiola, founder of WeCyclers, teamed up with Uber to create an innovative new campaign called ‘operation recycling unwanted waste’. The campaign was launched to be in effect throughout Lagos, in line with the initiative of Uber and WeCyclers to promote a clean and healthy environment.
Read moreDon't be put off by rejection, persist....
"Push more! You have to grab things and be persistent. Don’t take things personally. Rejection is part of the game, just keep pushing. Don’t give up. Push more!"
- Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is an award winning Nigerian social entrepreneur and innovator, and the founder, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is also a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow.
Read moreSource: The Guardian | by Athlyn Cathcart-Keays | 21 October 2015
Wecyclers began life as a student project – but Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola has since built it into a social enterprise that tackles the Nigerian capital’s waste crisis and empowers low-income communities to turn trash into cash.
Read moreInterview on 23 July 2015 by Melanie Hawken, founder & editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa
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.
Read more"I definitely think developing countries can build their economies through waste. One of the biggest drivers for the economy is jobs. According to the REI, the US recycling sector employs well over 1.25 million people, I believe that recycling alone can create at least 500,000 jobs in Nigeria."
- Bilikiss Adebiyi is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow and WeCyclers were a Sustainia100 Company Award winner in 2014.
Read moreMeet Bilikiss Adebiyi, the inspiring Nigerian social entrepreneur and founder of WeCyclers. Her multi-award winning company offers waste collection and recycling services to the Lagos informal settlements, where an estimated 66% of Lagosians live.
Read moreSource: Fast Company | January 5, 2015
Lagos, Nigeria, is home to 21 million people, but only 40% of their trash is collected. The rest ends up in heaps, spreading disease. To lessen the burden, a local named Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola launched the recycling startup Wecyclers. Its challenge: Teach people to care about trash.
Read moreAn award-winning Nigerian social entrepreneur who has built a sustainable and economically viable business model to help the poor communities of Lagos reclaim their neighbourhoods from the scourge of pollution and waste.
Read moreWecyclers, founded by Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, has won the 2014 Sustainia Award, chaired by Arnold Schwarzenegger, for a solution that enables low-income communities to make money from waste piling up in their streets. By deploying a fleet of cargo bicycles to collect and recycle unmanaged waste in Nigeria’s capital Lagos, Wecyclers lets families exchange garbage for consumer goods via an SMS-based point system.
Read moreSource: Huffington Post | by Ebenezar Wikina | 16 September 2014
When you think of garbage collectors, what comes to mind? Unfortunate poor illiterate men and women who are not certified enough for more 'honourable' jobs right? Yeah. This stroll is for you.
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