 | |
| Founded | United States (2020, as Salubata) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Nigeria, France, United States |
Key people | Fela Buyi Akinse Yewande Akinse |
| Website | www |
SALUBATA is a shoe design and manufacturing company that collects and converts plastic waste into customized shoes. [1] [2]
In 2020, SALUBATA won the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and became the first IEEE Entrepreneurship Stars Virtual Competition. [3] [4] [5]
Salubata is a global brand, started in Nigeria, registered in France and currently headquartered in the United States. Founded in 2020 by Fela Buyi Akinse alongside Yewande Akinse. [6] [7]
The company invented two globally patented technologies which are modular shoes made or repurposed from plastic wastes and carbon decomposition shoe technology. Five per cent of SALUBATA profits from shoe sales are used in empowering children and women in underprivileged communities. [8] [9]
In 2022, they were announced as the winner of Kigali Startup Festival at the Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF) in Kigali, [10] [11] and currently have a partnership with Amazon (company), Techstars Accelerator Los Angeles, and has been featured on TechCrunch, Business of Fashion. [12] [13] [14]
In 2023, They were shortlisted from 650 entries worldwide in over 20 different countries on Make it Circular Challenge and were the winner of Circularity 20 at GreenBiz's online circular economy event. [15] [16]
The winners of the Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge 2021 by the African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation. [17]
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution and water pollution.
Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be modelled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform those resources into by-products, products and services which can be bought and sold to meet the needs of humanity. Industrial ecology seeks to quantify the material flows and document the industrial processes that make modern society function. Industrial ecologists are often concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, with use of the planet's supply of natural resources, and with problems of waste disposal. Industrial ecology is a young but growing multidisciplinary field of research which combines aspects of engineering, economics, sociology, toxicology and the natural sciences.
Plastic recycling is the processing of plastic waste into other products. Recycling can reduce dependence on landfill, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling rates lag those of other recoverable materials, such as aluminium, glass and paper. From the start of production through to 2015, the world produced some 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste, only 9% of which has been recycled, and only ~1% has been recycled more than once. Of the remaining waste, 12% was incinerated and 79% either sent to landfill or lost into the environment as pollution.
Boda bodas are bicycles and motorcycle taxis commonly found in East Africa. While motorcycle taxis like boda bodas are present throughout Africa and beyond, the term boda boda is specific to East Africa. In Kenya, they are more frequently called piki pikis or Boda. Their ubiquitous presence in East African cities is the result of a number of factors including an increasing demand for public transit, the ability to purchase motorcycles on credit, and an influx of cheap imports from Indian manufacturers like Bajaj and high level of unemployment among the youth. In the countries where they are present, boda bodas can provide transportation options to riders and job opportunities to drivers while at the same time resulting in an increase in road hazards and collisions and unnecessary injuries and deaths.
Electronic waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) electronics. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution. The growing consumption of electronic goods due to the Digital Revolution and innovations in science and technology, such as bitcoin, has led to a global e-waste problem and hazard. The rapid exponential increase of e-waste is due to frequent new model releases and unnecessary purchases of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), short innovation cycles and low recycling rates, and a drop in the average life span of computers.
Waste sorting is the process by which waste is separated into different elements. Waste sorting can occur manually at the household and collected through curbside collection schemes, or automatically separated in materials recovery facilities or mechanical biological treatment systems. Hand sorting was the first method used in the history of waste sorting. Waste can also be sorted in a civic amenity site.
Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.
A circular economy is a model of resource production and consumption in any economy that involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. The concept aims to tackle global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution by emphasizing the design-based implementation of the three base principles of the model. The main three principles required for the transformation to a circular economy are: designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. CE is defined in contradistinction to the traditional linear economy. The idea and concepts of a circular economy have been studied extensively in academia, business, and government over the past ten years. It has been gaining popularity because it can help to minimize carbon emissions and the consumption of raw materials, open up new market prospects, and, principally, increase the sustainability of consumption.
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized by size into micro-, meso-, or macro debris. Plastics are inexpensive and durable, making them very adaptable for different uses; as a result, manufacturers choose to use plastic over other materials. However, the chemical structure of most plastics renders them resistant to many natural processes of degradation and as a result they are slow to degrade. Together, these two factors allow large volumes of plastic to enter the environment as mismanaged waste which persists in the ecosystem and travels throughout food webs.
Goodwall is an app that aims to provide young people with opportunities to develop their skills and access educational and work-related opportunities. The platform is designed primarily for the Gen Z demographic and allows members to create a digital profile to showcase their skills and achievements using photos and videos. Users are encouraged to engage in skills-based challenges and online programs focusing on transferable skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and communication. The Goodwall app is available on both iOS and Android.
Veena Sahajwalla is an inventor and Professor of Materials Science in the Faculty of Science at UNSW Australia. She is the Director of the UNSW SM@RT Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology and an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow.
Bilikiss Adebiyi or Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is a Nigerian entrepreneur who founded the Lagos-based recycling company 'Wecyclers'. In 2022 she was the Director General of the Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau (LASRAB) and Managing Director of the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK). She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.
Rothy's is an American direct-to-consumer company which designs and sells shoes and accessories. Rothy's was initially founded in 2012 and launched in 2016 by Stephen Hawthornthwaite and Roth Martin as a women's shoe company in San Francisco. It has since expanded with handbags and a men's line.
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. also known as CFA is a Nigerian journalist and a former television presenter at Channels TV. He is into digital marketing and known as a technology entrepreneur with focus on business coaching and public speaking. He hosted the first virtual telehealth conference of Nigeria’s telemedicine company, CareClick with the theme ‘The Future Of Healthcare Today’ on 24 September 2020. He was involved in various ICT-related companies that contributed to the development of the Founder Institute. He is known as the founder of Pacer Venture and has links with Climate Action Africa. He is the MD/CEO of Anambra State ICT Agency.
Onyeka Akumah is a technology entrepreneur with a focus on transportation, agriculture, real estate, and media sectors. He is popularly known as the founder of Treepz Inc. Prior to founding his company in 2019, Onyeka Akumah was the CEO of Farmcrowdy. He is credited to have been involved in the success of various tech and e-commerce companies in Africa where he held positions and contributed to their growths.
Adejoke Lasisi is a Nigerian fashion designer, and environmentalist known for her development of fashion products and designs using nylon and textile wastes. She is the founder and CEO of Planet 3R and Jokelinks Weaving School.
Polymateria Ltd is a British technology company developing biodegradable plastic alternatives. In 2020, the privately owned company was the first to achieve certified biodegradation of the most commonly-littered forms of plastic packaging in real-world conditions, in less than a year without creating microplastics.
Plastic sequestration is a means of plastic waste management that secures used plastic out of industry and out of the environment into reusable building blocks made by manual compaction. Plastic sequestration is motivated by environmental protection and modeled on the Earth's process of carbon sequestration. Emerging out of the struggle of towns and communities in the Global South to deal with plastic pollution, plastic sequestration compaction methods are characterized by being locally based, non-capital, non-industrial and low-tech. Plastic sequestration is defined by the goals of securing plastic out of the environment and out of high energy/carbon industrial systems. Based on eliminating the chemical and physical and abiotic and biotic degradation pathways, plastic sequestration aims to achieve these goals, by terminally reducing the net surface area of thin film plastics. The building blocks that emerge from plastic sequestration are used in applications that further protect from degradation and permanently keep plastic out of industrial processes, thereby preventing their carbon emissions.
Wecyclers is a waste management company in Nigeria that helps low-income communities exchange their recyclable waste which is measured in kilograms for cash and other rewards.
Temilade Salami known as Global Temi is a Nigerian environmentalist, a circular economy enthusiast, a marine biologist and an author. She was born on the 10th of June Temilade Salami serves as the Executive Director of EcoChampions a prominent network of environmental professionals in Nigeria, leading change through tree planting, ocean conservation advocacy, plastic waste management, and environmental education across the nation.