Unilever Nigeria has joined forces with Bridges Outcomes Partnerships and social enterprise Wecyclers to combat plastic waste in Nigeria.
The collaboration, facilitated by French investment bank Societe Generale, has been established through a “Development Impact Bond”. This innovative partnership, called TRANSFORM, has received funding from Unilever, the UK government, and EY, and aims to raise funds to support the expansion of Wecyclers’ franchise and collection model throughout Nigeria.
Commenting on the new development, Carl Cruz, Unilever Nigeria managing director said: “This funding is a major step forward for us in our work to ensure plastics waste stays out of the Nigerian environment. “There’s wealth to be made from creating jobs tackling plastics waste, it cleans up the Nigerian environment and it develops a more sustainable financing model for groups like Wecyclers.”
Over the course of the next five years, Wecyclers plans to gather more than 30,000 tonnes of plastic waste. This initiative will not only have a positive impact on the environment but also generate over 700 jobs within recycling franchises across the country.
Additionally, wages for waste sorters will be improved through this partnership. This collaboration signifies an ongoing and strengthened alliance between Unilever Nigeria and Wecyclers.
The two organizations have been working together since 2014 under Unilever’s ‘waste to wealth’ campaign, demonstrating their commitment to sustainable waste management and social development in Nigeria.
