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Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola

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Bilikiss Adebiyi
in 2019
Born
Lagos, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Other namesBilikiss Adebiyi Abiola
Education
Known forCEO of Wecyclers

Bilikiss Adebiyi or Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is a Nigerian entrepreneur who founded the Lagos-based recycling company 'Wecyclers'.[1] In 2022 she was the Director General of the Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau (LASRAB)[2] and Managing Director of the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK).[3] She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.[4]

Early life

Adebiyi was born in 1983[5] in Lagos, Nigeria, where she went to the Supreme Education Foundation secondary school. She entered the University of Lagos, but left after a year to complete her studies in America.[6] She graduated from Fisk University and then went to Vanderbilt University, where she earned a master's degree. She worked for IBM for five years before deciding to study further. She was accepted to study for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[7]

Wecyclers

Bilikiss Adebiyi Abiola on Ndani TV

She came up with the idea of a recycling business[8] during her second year at MIT, where she worked on waste as her specialist subject. Her initial idea was to increase the quantity of waste she could collect from households by offering them raffle tickets in exchange. When she discussed this in Nigeria on a vacation she was surprised at the enthusiasm for her ideas.[6] Waste is a particular nuisance in Lagos as only a small percentage was collected regularly.[8] Adebiyi took the idea back to MIT where she was able to gather support by entering her idea in competitions. After graduating in 2012, Adebiyi moved back to Nigeria to be with her husband.[6]

A Wecycler's tricycle – A "Wecycle"
Wecycle rubbish and recyclers in 2019

In 2012, she co-founded Wecyclers, a company that collects recyclable rubbish from households in Lagos. When the business started, Adebiyi would take out a tricycle to do collections to find out more about her new business.[9] Once the rubbish is sorted, her company sends a SMS back to the household, informing them of how many points they have earned for trading in the rubbish.[10] These points can be converted for food, cleaning products, or cellphone minutes.[11] The company works in partnership with the Lagos Waste Management Authority. Lagos produces 9,000 tons of waste per day and the authority was trying to double the proportion that was recycled from the 18% figure in 2011.[10] The Nigerian economy is one of the largest economies in Africa, but the disorganisation in Lagos means that rubbish cannot always be collected. Wecyclers use modified tricycles that enable the collection of rubbish from places where normal vehicles cannot reach,[8] gathering waste from thousands of households. The company's estimate in October 2015 is that it has collected over 500 tons of rubbish, it has created value from that rubbish and has employed 80 people.[8]

Adebiyi, whose married name is Abiola, has arranged for the Coca-Cola and GlaxoSmithKline to subsidize their operation. Wecyclers had found that a significant proportion of the rubbish came from these companies and they were willing to assist with the recycling effort.[12] Guinness in Nigeria agreed to collaborate with Wecyclers in 2018.[13]

In 2017, Abebiyi stepped down as the CEO of Wecyclers to become the Managing Director of the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK).[3] In her new role, she will be keeping open space in Lagos State attractive and carry out tree planting.[14] She is currently (2023) the Director General of Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau (LASRAB).[15]

Recognition

Adebiyi's efforts have been reported in Nigeria and D+C.[16] She has been awarded grants from MIT and she has won a number of awards,[7] including the Cartier Women's Initiative Award for sub-Saharan Africa in 2013.[17] Wecyclers were awarded the King Baudouin International Development Prize in 2018/19.[18] Fela Akinse and Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola were the only two Nigerians listed in Africa among top five waste recycling entrepreneurs in 2020.[19]

Partners

Wecycler's partners include FCMB, DHL, Unilever, Oracle, Nigerian Bottling Company and MIT Sloan School of Management.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola". The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  2. ^ "Principal Officers – Lagos State Record And Archives Bureau, LASRAB". Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  3. ^ a b "Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola". The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  4. ^ "Principal Officers". Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  5. ^ Adebiyi-Abiola, Bilikiss; founder; WeCyclers.Born1983Lagos, CEO of; University, NigeriaNationalityNigerianAlma materFisk; University, Vanderbilt; WeCyclersWebsitelinkedin, MITOccupationCEO of WeCyclersKnown forfounding. "Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola - Disrupting Africa". disruptingafrica.com. Retrieved 2023-09-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b c Adebiyi-Abiola: New Face Of Waste Management In Nigeria, NGRGuardian, Retrieved 28 February 2016
  7. ^ a b Garbage in, Money Out: My Stroll With Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, 2014, Huffington Post, Retrieved 28 February 2016
  8. ^ a b c d 'It's money lying in the streets': Meet the woman transforming recycling in Lagos, Athlyn Cathcart-Keays, 21 October 2015, The Guardian, Retrieved 28 February 2016
  9. ^ Young CEO – Bilikiss Adebiyi, NDaniTV, Retrieved 29 February 2016
  10. ^ a b Recycling Banks to Reduce Scavenging at Dumps in Lagos, Nigeria, January 2011, waste-management-world.com, Retrieved 28 February 2016
  11. ^ Rawsthorn, Alice (2018). Design as an Attitude. Zurich, Switzerland: JRP | Ringier. ISBN 978-3037645215.
  12. ^ Bilikiss Adebiyi Archived 2020-11-27 at the Wayback Machine, 2013, cartierwomensinitiative.com, Retrieved 29 February 2016
  13. ^ Benson, Emmanuel Abara (2018-04-24). "Meet Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, Nigeria's queen of recycling and environmental sustainability". Nairametrics. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  14. ^ "Principal Officers". Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  15. ^ Nigeria, Guardian (2023-06-10). "Ajaero, Chima, Adebiyi-Abiola among activists in Changemakers". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  16. ^ Eva-Maria Verfürth (24 May 2016). "Incentives for behaviour change". D+C, development and cooperation. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  17. ^ "The 2013 Edition". Cartier Women's Initiative Awards. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  18. ^ "NIGERIA: Wecyclers wins King Baudouin Award for Development in Africa". Afrik 21. 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  19. ^ "meet africas top 5 entrepreneurs in the waste recycling business". tribuneonlineng.com. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  20. ^ Adebiyi, Bikis (April 2017). "Bilikiss Adebiyi- Abiola: I chose waste for impact". Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
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