Kenya adopts Indian-found waste management solution

by MARIA MACHARIA

NAIROBI – KENYA’S commitment to the circular economy through technology has received a boost after India-based zero-waste technology enterprise TrashCon partnered with local waste management impact enterprise, TakaTaka Ni Mali.

The partnership is to modernise Kenya’s circular economy infrastructure by introducing TrashCon’s decentralised waste segregation solution.

Facilitated by TRANSFORM – an impact accelerator led by Unilever, the United Kingdom Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and EY (formerly Ernst & Young) – the partnership aims to enable counties across Kenya to recover value from mixed waste and build more resilient waste systems.

Automating waste segregation through technologies like TrashBot eliminates the need for people to handle mixed waste directly, creating a safer, more efficient system that improves consistency and protects waste workers.

It also helps sort smaller fragments of waste and low-value recyclables that cannot be manually recovered.

TRANSFORM has identified strong synergies between TrashCon and TakaTaka Ni Mali – both enterprises it supports – to help translate the country’s new waste policy into practice.

TakaTaka Ni Mali will act as the local reseller for the TrashBot in Kenya.

Mary Ngechu, Founder and Patron of TakaTaka Ni Mali, said the collaboration with TrashCon was a powerful example of South-to-South knowledge transfer.

“They have developed a proven model we can build from, and their invaluable insights demonstrate the wealth of expertise that exists worldwide,” she said.

Nivedha RM (that is the full surname), Chief Executive Officer and Founder of TrashCon, said, “Our partnership with TakaTaka Ni Mali demonstrates the power of collaboration, showing how shared expertise and aligned purpose can accelerate progress and create lasting impact.”

The first TrashBot model concept will be showcased at the Waste Management and Circular Economy side event during the Kenya International Investment Conference on March 25–27.

– CAJ News