African countries, and particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have several environmental problems which can also be seen as potential. My dream is to see that one day these environmental problems are transformed into business opportunities in the DRC. I would like to live in a DRC, and world, where “Nothing is waste, everything is resource.”
Among the environmental problems is the proliferation of waste, which is common in all major Congolese cities. For nearly a decade, some people in the city of Bukavu (Eastern DRC) developed businesses based on trading metal waste. This allowed for all kinds of unused metal waste to be traded instead of dumped, which inspired me a lot.
Many kinds of waste—if not all—can be used as raw material for businesses. For example, plastic waste can be used in the manufacture of new plastic products, pavers, fuel, tar, buildings, and so on. Organic waste can be used in hydroponic cultivation, as substrates for soilless culture, as organic manure, and as a resource for biogas production.
In 2017, we began growing edible mushrooms on substrates from local farmers and organic household waste, eventually starting a youth company called Hope in the Nature. This is both a solution for the proliferation of waste and a profitable business. The initial reaction from people, however, was not very positive. Most people thought that they were GMOs and that nothing good would come from garbage. Over time, people realized that they were organic mushrooms and that our initiative was an innovative and sustainable way to tackle waste in cities and rural areas while mitigating the problem of malnutrition. For this reason, in 2020, we were awarded as outstanding young entrepreneurs in two business competitions held in Eastern DRC.
My dream is to see the many environmental problems of the DRC turn into opportunities. If young African green entrepreneurs can work toward this goal, and if they are supported by governments and organizations, environmental problems will no longer be seen as challenges but rather as opportunities. Beyond seeking solutions to our problems, we should also try to understand what business opportunities can be derived from them. These problems are seen as problems until today, and we must consider that it is we who have not yet discovered the hidden opportunities that lie inside.