GreenTec has announced its investment in Coliba, an innovative recycling and waste management start-up based in Ivory Coast that is tackling to one of the most important ecological problems of our time: plastic waste.
More than 5 million tonnes of waste are produced each year in Côte d’Ivoire, less than half of current waste is collected, and only around 3% is recycled.
94% of players in the plastic waste management sector operate in the informal sector, outside the value chain of recycled plastics.
The Coliba platform solves these problems by offering contractual and formal jobs as well as an easy solution for households who wish to be rewarded for recycling.
Coliba applies the principles of the circular economy to tackle the problem of plastic waste in Côte d’Ivoire.
The collection of plastic waste is facilitated by the provision of a mobile application. It allows users to benefit from either communication credit or price advantages on consumer products while recycling.
The application follows the evolution of the user’s collection of bottles and sends agents to collect them on site. The plastic bottles collected are then cleaned, sorted and transformed into granules and plastic flakes which are then sold at regional or international level to be transformed.
Coliba has been generating income for over a year, has created more than 50 jobs, 77% of which are held by women. Coliba’s success is based on the support of the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator and on a long-term partnership with the mobile operator MTN.
GreenTec will help Coliba to deploy its activities in order to create greater value and impact in the African recycled plastic economy.
