A new global financial analysis released in March revealed that sustainable investment has surged worldwide by more than a third since 2016, reaching assets of more than $30 trillion. Across the African continent, a new wave of ecopreneurship is taking root. Local enterprises are paving the way for sustainability and exemplifying the impact that local knowledge and ingenuity can have when combined with innovative business models.

At least one in ten girls in Sub-Saharan Africa misses school during their menstrual cycle. So, women suffer a lot from this situation, and it affects most of them in the rural area who cannot go to school or afraid to do any other type of work in public during the menstruation period and are forced to isolate themselves. A way to combat this has been using the agricultural waste from banana trunk fibres which is a cost-effective way to make sanitary products. 

The urge for people to fight the current plastic water bottle crisis has never been greater with the average American’s expenditure on drinking bottled water reaching around $1,400 a year. Furthermore, argue environmentalists, the transportation and distribution of bottled water requires massive amounts of oil and energy which results in no corner of the globe being safe from the devastating impact this has. To protect our global waterways from the tons of plastic debris, the best route to take is not to buy plastic bottles in the first place.

We all like to do our bit for the environment. We recycle, use kitchen waste to make compost, use reusable shopping bags, etc. These are all done in an attempt to decrease the usage of our planet’s resources and to reduce pollution. However, there might be more than you can do without even setting foot out of your home. When it comes to energy consumption, temperature regulation is one of the highest costs. We heat our homes in winter and cool them in summer.

Three young inventors from New Delhi, India have developed Chakr Shield; a technology that traps over 90 percent of pollutant suspended particulate matter (SPM) emissions from exhaust pipes of diesel generators. The SPM in form of soot (black carbon) is then recycled to make inks and paints.  

It has been over six months now since the ban on plastic bags was implemented in Kenya. Officials looked to target sellers and manufacturers head on, outlawing selling, using and producing plastic bags completely

In Nigeria a young green energy innovator has developed an electric mini-grid powered by biogas made from organic waste, and the power it’s generating, is benefitting 550 people of Rije village in Abuja.  Dubbed Waste2Watt, this first of its kind renewable energy project in the country, is generating 20 kilowatts of power, after converting agricultural and communal organic waste into electricity, by use of a biogas digester.  The electric power generated is then distributed via a mini-grid to the villagers.

Scientists have discovered that the caterpillars residing in hives and that eat the wax from which bees make honey combs, could actually eat away polyethylene plastic!

Earlier this year Kenya imposed a ban on the production, importation, distribution and usage of the non-biodegradable plastic bags which are used in most industrial sectors for packaging of finished commodities and carrying consumables from retail outlets. The ban progressively takes effect in September this year, when consumers and manufacturers will be faced with the somewhat harsh reality of absence of plastic bags from the market, yet an alternative has not been offered.

In a country that has over the years decried wanton destruction of forests which has taken a toll on environmental conservation, while chocking from the plastic bags eyesore, new and innovative ways of utilizing the bags while easing pressure on trees is giving the country a new lease of life. A group of vanguard entrepreneurs have sought to combine the plastic menace and the demand for building materials to come up with plastic poles which are long lasting, environmental friendly and sturdy compared to traditional wooden poles.