Aminat Olaniyan

A Nigerian environmental advocate leading youth-driven initiatives to combat plastic pollution in West Africa

Aminat Olaniyan is a visionary environmental leader from Nigeria who has made significant impacts through her work with the Green Africa Youth Organization. Born in Lagos in 1992, she began her environmental activism at age 16 after witnessing the devastating effects of plastic pollution in her community. By 2020, she had mobilized over 50,000 youth across 15 African countries through her Plastic Waste Warriors campaign, creating community-based recycling systems that transformed waste into construction materials. Her innovation Plastic2Brick technology converts 10kg of plastic waste into one building brick, providing both environmental solutions and economic opportunities. In 2022, she partnered with UNICEF to launch the Africa Clean Cities Challenge, which trained 2000+ waste entrepreneurs. Her TED Talk "Youth-Led Climate Solutions for Africa" has over 1.5 million views, showcasing her vision for circular economies. Recently, she established the African Youth Climate Fund to support grassroots environmental projects, proving young people can drive systemic change. Through her work, she's diverted 2.3 million kg of plastic from oceans and created 300+ green jobs in marginalized communities.