The Western Union Foundation is proud to help entrepreneurs scale their community impact through Fellowships like Forward Inc’s Accelerator Program. This partnership has already empowered 70 social entrepreneurs to launch, grow and sustain innovative businesses – including Mariam’s.
Living in Nigeria, Mariam Lawani had an innovative idea to help address climate change while also uplifting impoverished communities. This vision was realized when she launched Greenhill Recycling: a thriving community venture utilizing a reward-for-recycling model.
“We started because we identified a gap in Nigeria where there’s a lot of waste generated daily, and on the other hand we also have lots of people who are living on less than $3 a day. With Greenhill Recycling’s platform, people can exchange their waste for cash, groceries, home appliances or even startup capital for a small business,” shared Mariam.
Mariam’s innovative business is a win-win for the community by helping to clean up waste while also improving the livelihood of individuals and families. Greenhill Recycling also sorts, processes and sells the raw materials to produce recycled food-grade packaging materials, alongside polyester fiber.
Mariam knows that this innovative model has potential for growth across Nigeria and beyond – and was excited to participate in Forward Inc’s Accelerator Program to learn business skills to help scale and advance her venture’s impact.
“The Forward Inc Accelerator program not only enhanced our visibility, but also motivated us to ascend further in the recycling value chain, aiming to have a great impact on lives.”
Greenhill Recycling currently has 10 full time employees, more than 20 contract staff, and is recycling an average of 100 tons of materials each month – and Mariam has high hopes for future growth. “My goal is to scale to 200 employees and 900 tons of materials each month,” said Mariam.
Join the Western Union Foundation in supporting even more aspiring individuals who are changing lives in communities around the world by donating today.
