Startup Story
In Nigeria’s rural communities, poverty and unemployment are major challenges, as is the issue of waste management. For entrepreneur Mariam Lawani, the desire to contribute to solving the problem of plastic pollution was a major motivation to set up Greenhill Recycling, the social enterprise that converts waste into a currency to support socio-economic growth in Lagos, Nigeria.
LoA chatted to Mariam this month to learn more about this impact driven business.
What does your company do?
Greenhill Recycling is a Social Enterprise addressing the poverty and unemployment crisis in Nigeria, using recyclable waste as the currency of exchange. We harness the power of rural communities to solve waste management problems in Nigeria. Our reward for recycling model gives households, especially in indigent communities the opportunity to exchange their recyclable waste (e.g. plastic beverage and water bottles, broken chairs, buckets and bowls, water sachets), aluminum cans, old corrugated cartons and office paper for redeemable Green points, which can be exchanged for items of value such as groceries, pay utility bills or provide school supplies for children. We add value to the recovered recyclable wastes, by sorting (taking off labels and caps from plastic bottles) and baling. Baled materials are sold, to be used as raw material input for the manufacture of new products, such as polyester fibre, floor carpets, aluminum, ingots, tissue paper, new plastic products, etc.
“Since 2017, over 8,500 people have earned cash by recycling the plastic waste with us. 90+ jobs have been created to date.”
Due to the number and living conditions of people in these indigent communities, (living on less than $5 daily), they struggle with disposing their waste and are most vulnerable during disease epidemic and disasters such as floods which is caused majorly by indiscriminate disposal of waste in the environment. Some resort to burning their waste which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Our solution uses incentives to make the environmentally friendly habit of recycling, attractive while tackling sustainable development goals 1, 4, 6, 8 and 12.Through our efforts, tons of recyclable waste have been recovered that alternatively would have found their way into our aquatic habitats, drainage systems-leading to flooding and becoming vectors for mosquitoes or worst still, getting to the dump sites, increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. We recently launched 16 drop off locations within Lagos state to make recycling effective, convenient and very accessible to residents in the state.
What inspired you to start your company?
I got tired of all the waste brought out on my street whenever it rained, causing flood and traffic jams, reducing productivity time for me, and causing me to be late for work. Asides the aesthetic impact, it negatively impacted on our health. We constantly had to use insecticides in our home, and it was the same for other residents living on the street. Interestingly, at the time, there were only 2 formal recycling companies catering to over 22 million residents in Lagos State. There was a huge market and our solution was instituted to solve the waste management problem in Lagos state first and in extension Nigeria and Africa.
“In the past 9 months, we’ve diverted over 400,000 tonnes of plastics from ending up as marine litter. We’re looking to raise $500,000 to build a factory with 900 tonnes daily processing capacity.”
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We have succeeded to make recycling convenient and relate-able for residents in Lagos state. People can now truly associate waste to value, they can now use waste to solve their daily problems and so for them, it is no longer waste, but a resource in motion. We have also empowered several women to start up their own businesses in the recycling value chain, by offering a franchise opportunity to them.
Tell us a little about your team
Our team consist of myself (Founder and CEO)
A group of board members - Hubertues Evers (German), Adegboyega Adebajo (Former E.D Diamond bank), Ambibola Osuchukwu (Chattered Accountant), Temitope Lawani (co-founder), Hilary Kadiri, Francis Agbor, Wisdom Olu-Arotiwa (Operations), Numerous sorters and women.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
Entrepreneurship started for me in my University days, I used to sell Mary-Kay make up items in school. I learnt record keeping and marketing, although not in a very refined manner. Growing up, I observed my mother succeed in several businesses. She had a restaurant that operated for decades, we all assisted her back then in one way or another at the restaurant. She also had a supermarket and a boutique. I learnt stock keeping at the supermarket and would always help out when I was on midterm breaks or during holidays.
My older brother also towed the same line, in University he set up a photography business, RAVE photos (UNIBEN), which still exists today. He also sold female clothes. Right after his NYSC days, he started importing phones and accessories from China and that business has grown into several branches in Port-Harcourt today. My other two siblings currently operate their own businesses. I think watching my mum and my brother succeed in business, motivated me to becoming an entrepreneur when I got older..
I have experienced challenges, some losses, learnt some hard lessons, built amazing networks, got business certifications and an ongoing MBA degree, made some wrong decisions and very good ones and so far, I would describe the journey in one word - Rollercoaster.
“People can now truly associate waste to value, they can now use waste to solve their daily problems and so for them, it is no longer waste, but a resource in motion.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
In 3 years, besides creating jobs for over 600 women and youth through recycling, Greenhill Recycling will have 1 million subscribers to its beneficiary network, operate in 6 major cities in Nigeria and will be one of the pioneer companies to use plastics for road construction in Nigeria. Since plastics do not degrade, they can be used instead to solve major infrastructure issues such as road construction and low cost houses for Nigerians.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
The ability to change other people's lives. To impact on communities and create a source of livelihood for another human being!
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
I would say do not see the limitations, they are there deliberately to discourage you. Engage in sufficient research, ensure your solution meets a need and just do it!
Contact or follow Greenhill Recycling
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL mariam.lawani@ghrng.com
Why LoA loves it….
At Lionesses of Africa, we are constantly inspired by women entrepreneurs who build businesses that find solutions to big problems. In Nigeria, Mariam Lawani is one such entrepreneur. She is using her business smarts and innovation to turn trash into opportunity, and as a result, positively impact the lives of hundreds of women and their families. This is a high impact business that is not only kind to the planet, but a great example of positive social entrepreneurship in action. Watch this company grow over the next few years. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa