Big boost is underway for businesses as Paperbags by Ebees says it is out to expand sustainable packaging solutions in its planned operations frontiers.
The company is poised to expand its recycling business operations across West Africa and reach more businesses in 2023.
Selected as one of the top 30 female-led businesses across Africa by Women Entrepreneurship for Africa (WE4A), Paperbags by Ebees has received grant funding and tailor-made business mentorship to help meet some of her goals.
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WE4A programme is an action jointly supported by the European Union (EU), the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
These are implemented by the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), and the German development agency GIZ (E4D program). The Acceleration/Growth Programme is implemented with support of Swiss Association for Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets (SAFEEM), a Seedstars Program.
Chidiebere Nnorom, Co-founder, Paperbags by Ebees, said, “we are currently fundraising to scale our operations across West Africa and looking at instruments such as debt financing with interest rates lower than 10 percent; equity and grant funding to upgrade our current capacity.”
Nnorom is optimistic that pitching at the Team Europe Initiative-Investing in young Businesses in Africa (TEI IYBA) event at the Marriott Hotel in Lagos will take them a step closer to the funds they need, adding that they have also received funding from orange corners, Nigeria (OCIF), Nigerian Export Promotion Council and Tony Elumelu Foundation.
“For four years, we have serviced most of the high-end restaurants and hotels in Lagos, Nigeria. But more and more businesses are beginning to realize that there is a business case for circularity in business.
“Our headline product, paper bags, is made from recycled paper and cheaper by 50 percent than FBB PE coated bags and 100 percent recyclable with high recyclable value. With scale, we have plans to collect these bags through partner recycling companies and help to drive a local circular economy.
The impact we are currently validating with a team of experts at GCIP, a UNIDO and Federal Government sponsored event, to see at what scale our operations can help mitigate against GHGs,” she said.
Nnorom explained that paper bags are a cheaper and more eco-friendly alternative to single use packaging needs like in food service, fashion and grocery service. She revealed that they had plans to develop more products from recycled materials other than paper based, recalling that, some years back, Kenya and Rwanda banned single use plastic bags and enforced strict laws on its usage.
“They are reaping the rewards as their cities are one of the cleanest in Africa. Most of Europe have erased single use plastic bags as well. I like what Paperbags by Ebees is trying to achieve,” said Ahmed Alex Omah, President of the African Packaging Organization, Executive Director Institute of Packaging Nigeria, and Board Member, World Packaging organization.
“Packaging touches every sector, and Nigeria is a huge market with great potential. That’s why through the Nigeria Packaging Academy, in collaboration with the Institute of Packaging South Africa, we are helping to structure and certify professionals in the sectors with advanced packaging technology education to help build human resources for the industry.
