Environment for $100,000

Allen Kimambo
Tanzania – Startup
Zaidi General Enterprises
Recycling paper to create jobs and save trees
Allen Kimambo cleans the environment, prevents deforestation, provides new sources of revenue for many, and will soon manufacture locally produced recycled products for the Tanzanian market. The founder of Zaidi General Enterprises says that his cardboard recycling business has already “stopped thousands of tons of waste paper from burning in landfills.” His goal is to “save trees, clean the environment, and provide incentives for the community.”
The Presidential Jury noted how Allen “demonstrated immense commitment to solve the issue of recycling. He collects discarded cardboard papers from various disposal sites, thus reducing the ecological impact of these abandoned materials. His recycled paper creates jobs and saves trees.”Allen poured his heart and resources into launching Zaidi General Enterprises. The company collects, bales, and recycles corrugated cardboard waste.
In Tanzania, less than 10% of waste paper is recycled, with the large majority being burned or dumped. The business spearheads job creation, drives up profits, and drives out the paper waste problem. With $100,000 of award money, what started as a manual baling operation will now scale up into automated machines for dramatically increased efficiency and impact. Allen plans to stop exporting recycled bales of cardboard waste and will locally manufacture and market a variety of products.
And, Allen’s business employs a network of collectors who Allen says, “go around to the markets, shops, municipal dump sites and box factories to collect, bail and truck paper to recycling factories.” Before winning the Award, Allen already involved more than 100 people in his business, and that number will soon increase.
