Every year millions of tons of waste are produced worldwide with no signs of it slowing down. Statistics from the World Bank states that with rapid population growth and urbanizations, annual waste generation is expected to increase by 70% to 3.4 billion metric tons in 2050.
Also, a report published in June 2020 United Nations global e-waste monitor states that global Airways has surged up to 21% in just five years with a record 53.6 million metric tonnes of electronic waste generated worldwide in 2019.
To tackle this environmental problem, Cleantech startups are at the forefront of this movement. The use of clean technology significantly improves energy efficiency and enables the sustainable use of resources for environmental protection activities.
I had a chat with Tope Sulaimon, Co-founder Scrapays, on Tech Trends show where he discusses the issues in the Cleantech industry.
CFA: Temitope, glad to have you on the Tech Trends today.
Tope: Thank you very much, CFA for having me. It’s a pleasure.
CFA: Let’s start by getting your take on the startup ecosystem today.
Tope: The Startup ecosystem in Nigeria particularly in Lagos is quite an interesting one with the Fintech guys taking all of the big wins and more of them coming up on a day-to-day basis.
Outside of that, they are also very fantastic Edtech companies Cleantech companies that are doing amazing stuff but are yet to get the amount of recognition that the Fintechs have gotten so far.
I’m sure that in the next couple of months or years they will also get to that place be able to call that much attention to themselves as well.
CFA: It’s interesting that you mentioned Fintech. Sometimes, I wonder how startups like you feel about all the rave and attention on Fintechs.
Tope: It’s fantastic for us because our business also has some sort of fintech solutions incorporated into them. It means that we have the liberty to play in the field and to take all of the returns and yield that come from the Fintech bubble as it is right now.
CFA: Hopefully. I hope you mean bubble in a positive term.
Tope: Yes I do. Positively!
CFA: Tell me, what are some of the issues that you think affect the growth of startups in other verticals?
Tope: Primarily, the Fintech sector has got a lot of investment, however, investment into other sectors is not as much or near. This is essential because capital ensures that these sectors of businesses can grow, affect more people, and have more impact.
I believe that as soon as they are able to grow and become investable, weighing their numbers to be sure they’re correct, they would also get this investment and grow as much as possible.
You can watch the full interview here.
