Wecyclers a Nigerian startup founded by Bilikiss Adebiyi has just won $55,000 from the Case foundation. The foundation which has been touring the African continent with the aim of giving African innovators a boost is owned by Steve Case (co-founder AOL) and wife, Jean Case.
Wecyclers, a 2014 winner of the Sustania awards is a tech-driven recycling initiative that offers convenient household recycling services. The startup in partnership with the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) collects recyclable waste products from households in Lagos using low-cost bicycle-powered vehicles called “wecycles”. These waste products are then sold to Nigerian based recyclers with redeemable points awarded to the over 60,000 participating households.
The startup event saw the winner pitching against eight other startups like Eve and Tribe, Callbase, Queens of Africa, Aella Credit, Jekalo, MamaletteNg and Lizzie’s creation who were preselected at the just concluded Pitch for Lagos startup competition.
The Case foundation over the past 15 years has boosted various startups across the African continent. Co-founder Jean Case advised the startups pitching to “soak up other people’s experiences. Don’t be afraid of failing, sometimes you need to fail fast to fail forward”.
