entering plastic recycling in Nigeria and Ghana
Summary
By showcasing functioning models, we can enable the development of an industry that is crucial in tackling the challenges of plastic pollution while creating a large number of jobs, says Carl Johan Wahlund, Investment Director for Green Infrastructure at Norfund.Norfund has committed EUR 2 million as a convertible loan to Wecyclers Nigeria Limited, a recycling company based in Lagos. At the same time, Norfund is announcing a USD 10.5 million investment in Miniplast Ghana Ltd, a leading plastics manufacturer based in Accra, to support its recycling capacity. Establishing these with incentives and a commercially sound model across the value chain is however complicated even in many high-income countries, and still more challenging in developing countries, where waste regulation and enforcement of extended producer responsibility is lacking.Wecyclers has managed to establish a model in one of the more difficult areas of the world, with its own collection both directly from households and via kiosks and franchises, combined with a close collaboration with a European plastic producer which will serve to ensure that both the process and the output quality meets highest international standards, says Carl Johan Wahlund, who heads Norfunds Green Infrastructure investment area, which has a dedicated focus on waste and water.In 2020, Miniplast established an in-house plastics recycling business that uses locally sourced plastic waste. The factory was also the first to install solar power delivered by Empower New Energy, another Norfund investee.The investment in Miniplast is expected to create more than 850 jobs across the plastics value chain.While the contributions of these two investments may seem small compared to the overwhelming challenge of plastic pollution, by showcasing a functioning model, they enable the development of an industry and the promotion of a culture of waste management. The Company also has waste collection and grinding hubs in Kumasi and Tamale.Wecyclers is a for-profit social enterprise that promotes environmental sustainability, socioeconomic development, and community health by providing convenient recycling services in densely populated urban neighbourhoods.