What is the name of your organization?
Scrapays inc.
What is the name of your solution?
Scrapays
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Decentralized, tech-powered platform turning everyday people into recycling micro-entrepreneurs across emerging markets.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Lagos
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
NGA
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
The Problem We're Solving
Over 2 billion people globally lack access to organized waste management, with 90% of waste in low-income countries either openly dumped or burned, contributing to severe environmental and health crises. In Nigeria alone, over 32 million tons of waste are generated annually, but less than 12% is recovered or recycled. This problem is further compounded by a fragmented informal recovery sector, lack of traceability, limited infrastructure, and exclusion of underserved communities from the circular economy.
At the same time, over 350 million young people and women across Sub-Saharan Africa face unemployment or underemployment, with limited access to financial tools or income-generating opportunities. Many work informally with no access to savings, credit, or scalable markets.
Scrapays addresses both challenges by turning everyday people — especially women and youth — into digitally empowered micro-entrepreneurs who collect, process, and monetize recyclables. We solve for the lack of infrastructure by using low-bandwidth digital tools (USSD, WhatsApp Bot), IoT smart scales for transparency, and a wallet-credit system that provides income, savings, and credit access.
The scale of our solution sits at the intersection of climate resilience, youth unemployment, and financial exclusion — delivering impact where it’s most needed.
What is your solution?
Scrapays is a tech-powered platform that transforms waste recovery in emerging markets by turning everyday people into recycling micro-entrepreneurs. Our platform connects waste producers (households and businesses) with local agents (individuals or businesses with garages, compounds, or shops) who collect,& sell recyclables.
Waste producers request pickups via simple digital tools like USSD/WhatsApp, or our mobile app. Once an agent picks up recyclables, they weigh them using IoT-enabled smart scales that provide real-time pricing and traceability, ensuring transparency. The agent then receives instant payment via the Scrapays digital wallet, where they can save or access micro-loans to scale their business. This wallet system is designed to improve financial inclusion by offering instant payouts, access to credit-based on activity on the platform.
Scrapays operates across five major waste streams; — helping divert waste from landfills and empowering local agents. Our platform makes recycling accessible, even in low-connectivity areas, and gives agents access to a sustainable income while promoting environmental impact.
With a decentralized approach and inclusive technology, Scrapays is building a scalable, transparent, and impactful circular economy for emerging markets.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1H4H0uM_S1xPCioJQQe81d5XCrJRBEUKk?usp=drive_link
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Scrapays primarily serves underserved individuals in emerging markets, particularly youth, women, and those from low-income or informal sectors. These groups are often excluded from formal economies, facing challenges like unemployment, limited access to financial services, and low-income opportunities. In many regions, waste collection is informal, unstructured, and inefficient, leaving vast gaps in environmental and economic potential.
By empowering local waste collectors and micro-entrepreneurs, especially women and youth, Scrapays provides them with an income-generating platform, access to digital financial services, and micro-loans to scale their businesses. We transform individuals into agents who collect recyclables from households and businesses, offering them fair compensation, instant payouts, and a route to financial inclusion through our digital wallet system.
For households and businesses, Scrapays offers convenient waste collection, access to real-time pricing, and traceable transactions, ensuring that recycling is easy, transparent, and efficient. This system helps divert waste from landfills, improving environmental quality.
Our solution delivers economic empowerment, job creation, and environmental sustainability by creating a decentralized, scalable model that benefits individuals and communities while addressing local waste management challenges.
