It’s nice to report a good news story for a change. And the work of Nigerian entrepreneur Ifedolapo Runsewe is certainly good news. Not for what she is currently achieving, remarkable though that is. But because her company Free Recycle, based in Ibadan, points the way to solving a whole bundle of problems; a genuine ray of hope at a dark time.. So let’s unbundle things one by one, as there is so much to like here.
The Links We always ask you to look at the sources, gentle readers and today our researchers have come up with two. [1] is this rather good vid. from Business Insider via You Tube which actually walks you round her plant, introducing us not only to Ms Runsewe but also to some of her busy employees [2] is an article by Zaniel Dada for How We made it in Africa-a clever title if ever there was one
The Method Basically they take as many used vehicle tyres as they can get their hands on, strip out all the metal bits, chop up the rubber and turn it into all kinds of things including paving slabs and footwear to walk upon them in. How’s that for a neat bit of ergonomics?
The African connection. Yes some countries like the US have been quite good at tyre recycling for years. But there are billions and billions of old tyres in the world, and far too many get dumped in poorer countries where they can cause no end of unpleasant health problems. Here is a viable business model to turn a problem into a genuine new resource. We have covered other small companies with pioneering ideas here before (LSS passim) but never one from Africa. Thanks to all concerned! And, we wonder-if you can recycle used tyres, why not lots of other things too?
The Bigger Picture For most people, immigration is the biggest issue of our time. We have always believed that it is best addressed as an economic phenomenon as human capital moves from areas of low demand to areas of high demand. From poor places to rich ones, just like charged ions in an electronic field. Raise the quality of life in poorer countries, and migration will slow. Stop, even. Who is doing more to raise life in Africa than Ifedolapo Runsewe, with a thriving business providing regular jobs and structure?
We think we will hear more from Ifedolapo Runsewe in years to come. We think we will here more good news from Nigeria too. As one year closes and another soon opens, we wish them both continued success.
Disclaimer As with all our new company and start up stories LSS has no financial nor any other known connection to the businesses concerned. Except-we do own some car tyres!
[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djCfm89pqG8
#Ifedolapo Runsewe #nigeria #africa #development #recycle #commerce #business #enterprise #pollution
Learning, Science and Society 