Green Business, Winner of the 2iE accelerator programme
Green Business is a Nigerien company that won the first prize of the WEF NEXUS accelerator bootcamp for Niger Basin startups. The bootcamp was organized by the “Institut International d'Ingénierie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement” (2iE) on behalf of the Nexus Regional Dialogues (NRD) Programme and took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in June 2022. It had the aim to train and individually coach participating companies to help them develop their business and link them with potential investors.
As part of its winning prize, Green Business was offered a 9-month acceleration program and a seed fund worth 25,000,000 CFA francs (~ 38.100 EUR).
Green Business Consulting is an eco-innovative company involved in the production of and marketing of biochar and organic fertilizers using agricultural residues, invasive plants and animal droppings.
Zakari Idrissa Abdou is the founder and CEO of Green Business Consulting. He started this project in 2020 as a response to the proliferation of water hyacinth on the Niger River and the simultaneous disappearance of aquatic fauna in the river. Together with his team, they collect and transform through pyrolysis water hyacinths invading the Niger river. This helps in preserving and protecting the river and groundwater bodies. It also poses less threats on forest areas and improves soil fertility.
In addition, biochar is a sustainable alternative for the daily energy needs of rural households. The Green Business project aims to contribute to those needs in Niger.
As part of the winner prize, Zakari Idrissa followed a 3-week immersion course in October 2022. For the business owner, it was an opportunity to learn ways to optimize the project’s current production, maximise its social and environmental impacts and to efficiently use the money received.
The course was delivered through coaching sessions and personalized training with experts from the 2iE Institute. Exhanges were centralized around strategies to improve the organizational structure of Green Business and Consulting, to upgrade its means of production of green charcoal and organic fertilizers by supporting in the acquisition of new equipment including an industrial pyrolyser with better specifications. This new pyrolyser was expected to boost the startup’s current biochar productivity from 2 tons/month to 20 tons/month by 2023, and further to 20 tons/month by 2024. This advancement will help meet the growing demand for the startup products.
In addition to technical matters, the coaching also discussed monitoring and evaluation indicators of occupational health and safety risks as well as environmental impacts linked to the company.
The Water-Energy-Food Nexus
Together with national and regional partners, the Nexus Regional Dialogue in the Niger Basin, co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Ministry for Development and Cooperation (BMZ), promotes the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus approach in the region to address these interdependencies and ensure the sustainable management of water, energy and food resources.
The WEF Nexus approach focuses on negotiating trade-offs, inspiring compromises and uncovering synergies to ensure water, energy and food security in the long run. It further promotes policy coherence and cooperation between all three sectors at the regional, local and global level. The approach has proven successful for the women’s cooperative in Kollo, where it was implemented as part of a demonstration project.
Production of biochar for sustainability and energy goals
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The Nexus Regional Dialogues Programme
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The Nexus Regional Dialogue in the Niger Basin
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Country Profiles
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Nexus Training Materials
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