Entrepreneur Keiran Smith left his investment banking career in Zurich to establish Mr Green Africa, a plastic waste recycling company in Kenya. Mr Green Africa purchases plastic waste from informal waste collectors and recycles it into small pellets, which are then sold to plastics manufacturers as raw materials for new products.
The company has differentiated itself through its ‘fair-trade’ sourcing approach, which provides waste collectors with the opportunity to earn a higher, predictable, and transparent income. It also offers a better quality product than many other recyclers.
Smith shared his business journey with How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz.
Highlights from the interview include:
- Smith’s transition from a banker in Switzerland to running a recycling company in Kenya
- The company’s early mistake of purchasing the wrong equipment
- Initial difficulties in finding buyers for its products
- How a partnership with consumer goods giant Unilever dramatically changed the company’s fortunes
- Challenges in fundraising and how he ultimately convinced American chemicals giant Dow and other investors to back the business
- Competition in Kenya’s recycling industry
- Reflections on what he would have done differently if he started the company again
