Weee Centre, A Kenyan Start Up, Bags Runners Up At Top Innovation Awards

A Kenyan startup has been picked among top three most innovative enterprises in Africa keen on tackling development challenges. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre (WEEE Center) emerged as first runners up at this year’s Sankalp Africa Awards that were held online, earlier on in the month.

Weee Center’s mission is Securing a green and safe environment through the provision of e-waste management services.
Improper disposal of electronic waste, or e-waste exposes the environment to toxins. These toxins result in elevated risks of cancer and developmental and neurological disorders. Globally, some 51.3 million tonnes of e-waste are generated annually while in Kenya, slightly more than 50 thousand tonnes are produced.

“We stepped in to offer proper ways of e-waste management using technology and through creating awareness,” said Boniface Mbithi, the chief executive at WEEE Centre. Since its inception in 2012, the startup has handled 10,000 tonnes of e-waste and created over 600 green jobs.

WEEE Centre is the only e-waste recycling organization in Kenya and the biggest in terms of capacity and manpower in Sub-Saharan Africa. The organization has over 100 partners and supporters who share a vision in safe e-waste management in Africa. WEEE Centre looks to expand and become a central facility for final disposition and treatment of problematic e-waste fractions.

One of their main objectives is to work with local, national, regional and international initiatives to divert end-of-life equipment from garbage dumps towards sustainable reuse and recycling to protect public health and the environment.