Five local start-ups feted in plastic waste innovation challenge
A woman goes about her work in a water hyacinth-filled part of Lake Victoria in Homa Bay town in this photo taken in October 2021. A Kenyan business is producing a biodegradable alternative to plastic from the hyacinth.
The five were among 40 innovative firms across sub-Saharan Africa that received a total of Sh652 million in funding to develop solutions that increase plastic recycling, reduce volumes of plastic waste, and influence behaviour change regarding plastic waste.
One of the start-ups, Chemolex, was awarded Sh119 million to scale production of Biopactic, a biodegradable alternative to plastic made from invasive water hyacinth that grows aggressively in Lake Victoria. The next-generation material can replace single-use plastic in food and product packaging – not only reducing plastic pollution but also dealing with an invasive plant impacting Kenya’s marine ecosystem.
