DOI-ITAP Success Story: Mombasa Plastics Prize and Incubator

“Awesome and life-changing experience!”

That’s how one young innovator in Mombasa County, Kenya, described their participation in the Mombasa Plastics Prize and Incubator. It gave local young people a chance to innovate and tackle plastic waste in their community.

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Four people talk over a table at a Mombasa Plastics Prize event

“It has been the best experience in terms of interaction and lessons that have facilitated me becoming an entrepreneur,” said another innovator.

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Sunset photo of water and boat near Mombasa

It all started because there is a big problem with plastic waste pollution in the waters near Kenya’s second-largest city, on the east coast of the African continent. In informal settlements, where people live without infrastructure or waste management services, the problem is even greater.

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Mombasa Plastics Prize Winners pose in front of banner

To help with this important issue, DOI-ITAP, USAID Kenya, and Challenge Works looked for the next generation of sustainable development leaders and established the Mombasa Plastics Prize.

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Mombasa Plastics Prize Team in their hats

The Prize launched in late 2022, inviting 60 youth innovators to organize into 14 teams and develop new solutions to plastic waste management. After five months of support, the top three teams received $58,000 in seed funding!

In 2024, DOI-ITAP supported a second phase, “the Mombasa Plastics Prize Incubator.” The top nine start-up teams received more coaching and funding. Over eight months, the young innovators transformed their prototypes into formal, sustainable enterprises!

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Mombasa Plastics Prize Workshop

While the program ended in summer of 2024, the work isn’t over. These local, inclusive start-ups now provide jobs, generate income, and keep a growing total of 27.5 tons of plastic out of the ocean. 

The young innovators credit their success to the training the Prize provided. One person shared, “Now that the program is over, we feel [we have] the maturity that we need to handle the business independently going forward.”

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Mombasa Plastics Prize Workshop Big Group from back watching presentation

“Safi sana,” or “very good,” to these amazing young innovators! They’ve worked hard to be a part of solving problems in the natural world and their community at the same time.

Mombasa Plastics Youth Innovators clean up a beach

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