He gave up a fat salary to recycle waste

While it’s common to hear people say there are no jobs these days, Allen Kimambo, sees job opportunities all around.

The 34-year-old chemical engineer, says the problem is that there is too much dependency on white collar jobs.

“Most youth wait to get employed while there are plenty of job opportunities out there,” says the founder and managing director of Zaidi Recyclers Company.

Allen who worked with Unilever Tea Tanzania Limited and Bollore Transport and Logistics Tanzania Limited between 2010 and 2018 gave up a more than Sh 4 million salary to venture into waste paper recycling.

Equipped with management, leadership and supply chain logistics skills plus a few millions he had saved, the down to earth engineer grabbed the opportunity he discovered while he was employed.

In 2015, as he was going about his normal quality inspection duties at the AMI ICD port, he learnt that some paper mills in the country were importing waste paper as raw materials.

“I called the general manager of one of the factories and explained my intention to collect and supply them with waste paper. He accepted to meet me for discussion and in February 2016, I did my first trial, which was successful.”

This was a turning point for the young entrepreneur. He saw no reason for local companies to import waste paper, which could be availed locally. And this is how Zaidi Recyclers Company was born.

The company, which is located in Keko-Mwanga deals in collection and processing of waste paper for sale to local and foreign paper mill companies. Zaidi recyclers is an incentive-based and innovative social enterprise that offers waste management solutions and recycling. The enterprise offers solutions to all range of recyclables, including all types of paper, plastic, electronics, tire wastes and metal scraps.

“Zaidi Recyclers aims to be the leading waste management solution and recycling company committed to the environment. We collect and process waste papers, which we sell to local and foreign paper mill companies.”

Currently, the company supplies to four local and three overseas companies. The company owns a registered TakaNiAjira factory that processes all the waste papers collected from various locations before they are taken to clients.

Allen, who graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam in 2009, initially operated his company as a side business. He quit his job after the business grew so he could give it his all.

He had saved Sh3 million and got another Sh 4.5 million after selling his Toyota Starlet car. Sh 7.5 million was not bad to start with.

“I have been mobilising the community to collect and recycle waste paper since 2016. We get these from offices, streets, institutions, events, exhibitions, meetings, markets, paper factories and municipal disposal sites. Our capability is 500 to 600metric tonnes per month, we want to reach 800 to 900mt per month,” says Allen.

The company uses waste pickers to get the paper wastes. It also sources materials through drop off centres where people drop waste papers. Zaidi has also set up bins in offices specifically for paper waste collection.

Zaidi recyclers employs 27 people and has created opportunities for more than 200 people. This is through collection of waste papers, supervision, transportation and food vendors. Also, they provide internship opportunities to university graduates.

Under its TakaNiAjira-Waste2Employment initiative, Zaidi Recyclers provides a wide range of waste solutions. The initiative is aimed at solving both waste and employment challenges. It runs programmes and projects that unlock the potentials hidden in all generated waste.

Through the initiative, Zaidi has managed to run successful programmes and projects such as Reward4Recycling, which is designed to provide rewards to entrepreneurial individuals who engage in waste recycling activities.

“Reward4 Recycling programme is a free and rewarding office to office waste paper collection service, which seeks to create more recycling awareness and divert more waste paper that go to the landfill while creating decent jobs. In this model and through prior agreement with office managements, we place our reward bins for the retention of waste paper only.”

Once they are full, the reward bins are collected by Zaidi staff at scheduled intervals. For clients to reach their own paper recycling targets, Zaidi Recyclers provides rewards and incentives such as tea, coffee, powder milk and airtime.

Reward4Recyccling concept has been short-listed by Human Development Innovation Fund to be included in the Innovation Week 2019, that takes place from 25th - 30th this month.

Allen won two awards and funding in 2017 from Tony Elumelu Foundation and African Entrepreneurship Award.

Was it easy getting where he is today? “Opening the company was easy, but getting the right business was a challenge.”