Printy and Packer

We've developed Nigeria's first 100% tree-free pulp, paper and paper packaging materials from corn husk which is considered to be an agricultural waste.

This has helped reduce deforestation, empowered marginalised communities and increased farmers income and productivity.

Deforestation, destruction of carbon-rich ecosystems and loss of biodiversity in the pursuit of wood for pulp is on the rise as over 4 billion trees are cut down annually globally for paper.

Proliferation of plastic in packaging especially for food and businesses find it hard to switch to using eco-friendly packaging materials because plastic is a cheaper alternative.

Improper management of plastic and agricultural waste is prevalent in Nigeria. The waste ends up in drainages, landfills and water bodies and this results in environmental pollution, soil degradation and destruction of life on land and below water.

Climate change and COVID-19 has greatly reduced farmer's income and productivity levels.

According to statistics from the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Nigeria spends N50 billion on importation of papers annually & Oluwadare Oluwafemi, a professor in the department of agriculture and forestry, University of Ibadan, while presenting a paper entitled, ‘Long Fibre Pulp Production in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges’, at the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) meeting in Lagos said that Nigeria imports 90% of the paper it uses. One of the major causes is lack of fibre trees necessary for pulp production as these Nigerian paper mills rely heavily on importation of pulp and chemicals.

Using sustainable processing methods, we recycle agricultural waste into pulp, paper and paper packaging materials. We currently work with agricultural waste from corn - corn husk.

For small businesses and large organisations, we're providing affordable eco-friendly paper packaging which will encourage them to ditch plastic packaging.

For paper mills we'll provide them with locally produced pulp which will help cut their production cost & reduce their carbon footprint resulting from importation.

For corn farmers we'll provide additional income streams which will help boost their incomes and productivity.

By producing paper from agricultural waste instead of trees we're helping reduce deforestation which has a huge negative impact on the environment. Also by diverting waste that would have found its way into water bodies we're protecting life below water.

We're currently perfecting our paper production process.

Agricultural waste, or agricultural residue, contains all parts of the plant that are released with the processing of agricultural crops like rice, grain, and sugarcane and are not suitable for human nutrition, like stems and leaves. This consists of about 80% of the harvest. The food industry only uses a small part of the agricultural crop. Often, only the seeds, fruits, roots and juices are used, which is about 20% of the plant. Because the vast majority of the plant is not of value to the food industry, we call this agricultural waste or agricultural residue. However, to us it is anything but waste. We use it as a raw material for high quality pulp, paper and paper packaging materials & being the first in Nigeria to do this makes us innovative.

Paper is currently made from wood which results in massive deforestation. Unavailability of fibre trees in Nigeria is one of the reasons why Nigeria imports over 90% of its paper and the logistics involved in this importation process contributes to paper waste due to improper handling and carbon emissions. By producing locally we address those problems. For every tonne of paper we'll produce we'll save over 16 trees.

We are currently impacting Uyo as a whole because we are decreasing the amount of agricultural waste that is indiscriminately dumped or burnt. Additionally, we currently provide jobs for 4 people and work with a few small holder farmers in the corn value chain.

In the next one year we intend to commercially produce paper packaging materials made from paper produced from agricultural waste; hire experts in chemistry, plant science and engineering and expand into using other agricultural waste like sugarcane, pineapple, rice, wheat, barley, banana etc. This means more employment and more farmers impacted.

 In the next five years we intend to build a state of the art pulp and paper mill. We'll begin to sell pulp and paper and increase production of our paper packaging materials. We'll work with thousands of farmers, hire hundreds of people and indirectly impact the final consumers by producing affordable paper packaging materials which will help reduce the prices of items in the market.

We have a 50% female workforce; we're reducing deforestation and environmental degradation.

We're a team of 4

We're a team of young people passionate about sustainability and driving social enterprises. With a background in Enactus back in college we've had first hand experience building social enterprises that positively impact people and planet. We've previously worked on environmentally friendly projects such as generating energy from organic waste and turning plastic waste into eco-friendly pavement tiles. We've also worked in the agricultural sector enabling farmers easily access markets for their products - in this process we've experienced first hand the wastage in the agricultural sector.

We're committed to building a business that increases agricultural productivity & improves the food system based on sustainable practices - for people, profit and planet.

50% of our current team members are women. Subsequently we intend to employ physically challenged people and ex-convicts in order to pursue our goal of providing equal opportunities to everyone.

Solve can enables us access the right funding and recruit the right talent to help us build out our company.

We need assistance in recruiting expert hands and accessing the adequate funding to scale the company.

ENVOpap - we'd love to learn from them as they're already in the market with their products.

By taking agricutural waste that would have been dumped in landfills and converting them to eco-friendly biodegradable paper we're helping ensure sustainable communities. The prize will enable us manage more waste and save more trees.

According to the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, women account for 75 percent of the farming population in Nigeria, working as farm managers, and suppliers of labour. Most of these women work with their children.

By giving agricultural waste a second life we're helping increase their income and productivity. Winning the prize will enable us scale the number of female farmers we work with.

By producing paper from agricultural waste we're reducing the number of trees cut down annually for paper thereby ensuring the availability of more trees to absorb carbon. Winning the prize will enable us save more trees.

Achieving a high rate of pulp and paper production while still maintaining consistency and quality can be a challenge. The pursuit of higher productivity puts a lot of stress on equipments. Interruptions can be very costly, and a high variability is bad for quality. Thus, any measures to keep production consistent – or even improve it – without exhausting or damaging the hardware can mean big savings.

By using data analytics software we can reduce costs and improve quality without purchasing expensive new equipment. Using software to achieve process optimization and control can bring big returns – including reduced waste, improved efficiency and prolonged equipment lifespans.

We intend to invest the prize money in data softwares in order to enable us achieve efficiency in production.

Improper waste management practices, unemployment and poverty are major issues in Nigeria. By recycling waste to paper we're not only saving the environment but we're employing people and improving their standard of living and that of farmers too.