GIVO

GIVO aims to solve the problem of plastic waste pollution in Nigeria. With over 42 million tonnes of waste generated annually at less than 10% recycling rate, the indiscriminate disposal of waste has led to the choking of water bodies and drainage systems, soil contamination and high carbon emissions into the environment.

GIVO aims to solve this by establishing GIVO modular recycling centers within communities across Nigeria. Fully IoT-enabled, the GIVO center is a youth & women-led entity created to facilitate the local collection and processing of recyclables into valuable goods.  Each GIVO center will process up to 90MT of recyclables, leading to carbon capture of 540MT annually. 

A key component of this solution is the creation of jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities and sustainable income for women & youth.  Globally, this solution will build resilient circular economies and mitigate the effects of plastic waste on climate change and the environment.

Home to 6 out of 50 largest dumpsites globally, Nigeria produces 42 million tonnes of solid waste annually, with less than 10% collected. This has led to the indiscriminate disposal of waste in uncontrolled dumpsites, blockage of drainage networks, choking of water bodies, soil contamination, and toxic carbon emissions into the environment. It is estimated that 1kg of plastic waste produces about 6kg of Co2, causing over 252 million tons of CO2 emitted in Nigeria annually.

With the quantity of solid waste generated annually expected to double by 2025 affecting a population of 201 million people, the waste management sector is a ticking time bomb without urgent intervention; with marginalized women and youth bearing the brunt of potential system failures.

Key factors contributing to this problem include:

• Lack of efficient waste management systems in Nigeria.

• Citizen apathy regarding sustainable waste management practices and its effect on the environment.

• Lack of employment opportunities within the waste management sector.

• Lack of technical know-how among citizens, to promote uptake of new waste management technologies.

GIVO aims to solve this problem by establishing GIVO modular recycling centers within communities across Nigeria. Housed in a portable 40ft container, the GIVO center is a community based, youth and women-led franchise entity created to facilitate the local collection and processing of recyclables into industrial goods. 

Recyclables are collected from individuals and businesses in exchange for financial incentives, within local communities. These recyclables, collected by GIVO center employees, are then sorted and evacuated to the GIVO centers where they are processed into higher-value products. Fully powered by solar energy, the GIVO centers will leverage the use of IoT technology to automate this process; from collection through to processing and sales of industrial material. 

A key component of this solution is the creation of jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for women and youth by providing 13 full-time jobs and 2 female co-owners per center.  Each GIVO center will process up to 90MT of recyclables, leading to carbon capture of 540MT annually. 

We will also provide financial incentives for the community residents ($0.1 per kg of recyclables deposited), provide technology training and business support to the women and youth working at the GIVO centers. 

Our target population are individuals living in communities most affected by the lack of efficient waste management systems in Nigeria, with a focus on women and youth living in these communities. This segment of the population (between the ages of 18-35) are seeking jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities that are unavailable due to economic conditions and are living on less than $2/day. 

Through the GIVO centers, we are working with this target group because they are the most marginalized within the communities, are high waste generators and are in need of employment opportunities and sustainable means of income generation.

To address their needs, GIVO conducts regular community outreach programs to educate the community residents on better waste management practices and gather insights on the unique needs and pain points of the residents. We then utilize this feedback in our processes to provide a more efficient solution. 

The GIVO solution will address their needs by providing a more effective and convenient means of waste management, providing jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for women & youth within the communities. We will also promote wealth creation through financial incentives for recyclables collected (we pay $0.1 for every kg of recyclables collected).

This solution is aligned with the MIT solve Challenge in the following area: 

Create scalable economic opportunities for local communities, through effective waste management and recycling, that are aligned with thriving and biodiverse ecosystems.

There is a lack of efficient waste management systems and necessary infrastructure to spur economic growth within this sector, thus leaving local communities equipped to tackle this problem of waste management and its resultant effects on land, water, air pollution and climate change.

The GIVO centers will provide increased economic activities through jobs creation, local manufacturing of processed recyclables, provision of financial incentives to the communities, and enable communities to build resilience through reduced carbon emissions and waste pollution mitigation.

To date, GIVO has piloted its solution in Lagos, Nigeria, in collaboration with the lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), where we collected over 4 tons of recyclables, acquired 200 registered communities and produced over 10,000 units of consumer goods. 

We are currently in our growth stage, having partnered with organizations including Coca-Cola, LVMH, Paga ( a leading financial services provider) and Capture Solutions (a leading B2B ICT solutions provider in Africa) to set up GIVO centers in communities within Lagos state.

The GIVO solution is innovative for the following reasons: 

• A digital solution. Every part of our solution is technology driven. From stakeholder identification, to weighing, to payment and logistics. 

• Includes processing activities into industrial products which increases the value of output from our activities compared to the competition. 

• We empower female entrepreneurs by providing robust solutions, catering to payments, transportation and market linkages. Our model ensures scalability and profits for stakeholders.   

• Our solution is sustainable, relies on renewable energy. It can be set up anywhere in the world as it was designed to be modular. 

• Incentivization waste collection to provide a means of income generation for the community residents.

Through our technology and business model, the GIVO solution creates a more efficient means of mitigating waste pollution through recyclables collection, and utilizing these recyclable materials for productive use in manufacturing, thus enabling a circular economy.

The total number of people we are currently serving is 200, where we have collected over 5 tonnes of recyclables and provided the equivalent of 40 full-time jobs for women and youth.

In one year, we aim to serve 600,000 residents of local communities by setting up 40 GIVO centers, providing 600 job opportunities.

In 5 years, we aim to serve 200 million people by setting up 20,000 GIVO centers across Nigeria, providing direct job opportunities for 300,000 people.

We are measuring our impact through the following key indicators;

• Quantity of recyclables collected and processed annually.

• Quantity of CO2 emissions avoided through effective waste management systems in the GIVO centers.

• Number of GIVO modular recycling centers established across local communities.

• Number of direct jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities created through the GIVO centers.

• Number of beneficiaries served by the GIVO centers.

Full-time staff: 12

GIVO currently has a team strength of 12 members with over 100 years of combined experience in IT, business development, operations, research, corporate communications and sustainability.

We also prioritize the hiring of individuals within local communities where the GIVO centers are located. This provides us with unique insights into the specific pain points for each community which we then apply in our solution and operations. 

Key members of the GIVO team include: 

• Victor Boyle-Komolafe - Co-founder and CEO

Victor Boyleis a sustainable business professional with over 10 years extensive experience in finance, product development, manufacturing and technology solutions. 

• Lorenzo Boncompagni - Co-founder and CTO

Lorenzo is an experienced ICT professional and has worked for over 20 years working in technology, product development and leadership. He is the CEO of Capture Solutions and will be working with GIVO to provide the necessary ICT solutions needed.

• Busola Boyle-Komolafe - Chief Data Officer

Busola is a researcher and consumer behaviour specialist with over 10 years of experience. A graduate of Market Research and Consumer Behaviour from IE Business School, Busola is the founder of Versa Research and Chief data Officer at GIVO. She will be instrumental in providing actionable market research for our product offerings.

GIVO is committed to creating an inclusive team and work environment for all. This is evident on it's recruitment policy of hiring at least 50% of women on it's workforce at any given time.

We also ensure we provide inclusive job opportunities by hiring GIVO centers employees within the communities in which the centers are located. 

We are applying to Solve because we believe that the GIVO solution can have a significant impact in Sub-Saharan Africa, helping to build available economic opportunities, build resilience in underserved communities and tackle the dire problem of waste pollution in Africa. 

Through Solve, we can create awareness for our solution, get access to coaching, technical and business support from Solve's expertise network and receive funding to further develop this solution.

• Financial

Through access to coaching and financial support from the Solve community, we can assess our investment readiness and secure funding from prospective investors which is instrumental to our growth.

• Public Relations: 

A crucial aspect of our operations is the creation of awareness of the GIVO solution, both through online and offline means to reach a wide audience. 

Access to support on media awareness, communications strategy and marketing will greatly enhance our output and revenue generation at GIVO.

Product/SerVice Distribution: This will involve securing strategic partnerships to increase our customer portfolio and B2B client base at GIVO. Access to support and coaching in this area will be instrumental to our success.

• Technology: 

GIVO’s solution utilizes advanced technology such as IoT, machine learning, computer vision and artificial intelligence and we are constantly iterating our processes to develop the most efficient means of recyclables collection and processing. By working with technology experts from Solve, we can further develop the GIVO

We would love to partner with the following categories of organizations: 

• Off-takers in green building construction, interior design and manufacturing. These off-takers will help promote the use of processed recyclables as a valuable resource by utilizing it for further production.

• Financial Service Providers: Integration of their payments technology with the GIVO solution will facilitate the provision of financial incentives and credit payments for the local communities.

• MIT Institute for Data Systems and Society to help analyse data on waste consumption gathered from our recyclables collection processes and how this can be utilized in creating more resilient ecosystems in Africa.

We are applying for the GM Prize because we believe that the GIVO solution can have a significant impact in Sub-Saharan Africa, helping to build sustainable, resilient, circular communities through plastic pollution mitigation and advanced technology. 

Through the GM prize, we can create awareness for our solution, receive essential technical and business support and funding to scale across Nigeria and beyond.