Earlier today, the 30 semi-finalists in the running for the Promoting Change strand of the Afri-Plastics Challenge were announced by Nesta Challenges, a London-based innovation foundation that describes itself as existing to ‘design and run challenge prizes that help solve pressing problems that lack solutions’.
The Afri-Plastics Challenge, funded by the Canadian government as part of its commitment to reduce marine plastics globally, is a project aimed at improving plastic management in sub-Saharan Africa. While strands one and two of the challenge prize comprised scaling technological and engineering solutions to the problems of plastic pollution across sub-Saharan Africa, this final strand is focused on creative communication campaigns to ensure communities are engaged and enthusiastic about changing their long-term behaviour with regard to the way they interact with plastic waste and the circular economy.
The project is particularly targeted at promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. While not limited by gender, the challenge encourages women and girls to participate by submitting their solutions.
The 30 semi-finalist projects include Virtual Reality storytelling of the plastics lifecycle, blockchain-based apps for manufacturers to follow the journey of reusable plastics and the creation of co-operatives to promote plastic alternatives in the fashion and garment industry. Other semi-finalist programmes include women-led campaigns to convince communities to ditch plastic and school education campaigns to encourage children to separate plastic waste from other rubbish.
The 30 selected semi-finalists come from Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Fifteen finalists will then be selected in June 2022, receiving £50,000 each and capacity-building support. Three winners will be chosen in March 2023, receiving £250,000 each.
What is the Afri-Plastics Challenge?
The Afri-Plastics Challenge, run by London-based innovation foundation Nesta Challenges, comprises three strands to take on the problem of plastic pollution in sub-Saharan Africa on multiple fronts.
Strand 1 – Accelerating Growth – launched in July 2021 - is rewarding innovative solutions to managing plastic waste after it has been used and discarded (i.e. downstream solutions).
Strand 2 – Creating Solutions – launched in October 2021 - is rewarding innovative solutions to reducing the volume of plastic in packaging and other products before it is used (i.e. upstream solutions).
Strand 3 – Promoting Change – launched in December 2021, semi-finalists named today – is seeking creative campaigns and projects to influence behaviour change among individuals and communities to promote sustainable consumption around plastic.
