Blessing Koko

Nigerian social entrepreneur who pioneered community-driven waste management initiatives

Blessing Koko is a visionary Nigerian entrepreneur whose work in sustainable waste management has transformed urban environments across West Africa. Born in Lagos in 1985, she witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of plastic pollution and poor sanitation systems during her childhood. In 2015, she founded Blessing Trust Foundation, an organization that combines innovative recycling programs with youth empowerment initiatives.

Her flagship project, the EcoMentor Program, trains young people to become community leaders in waste management. Over 15,000 youths have been trained since 2016, creating a network of waste collectors and recyclers across Lagos State. Koko's approach includes building recycling centers that convert plastic waste into construction materials, which are then used in low-cost housing projects. This closed-loop system has diverted over 2 million kg of waste from landfills annually.

In 2018, her work caught international attention when the United Nations Environment Programme featured her model in their 2019 Global Waste Management Outlook. She has since advised governments in Ghana and Ivory Coast on implementing similar systems. Koko's innovative financing model - using blockchain technology to track waste-to-value transactions - was highlighted in the Harvard Business School case study Building Circular Economies in Emerging Markets.

Her advocacy extends to policy change: in 2019 she helped draft Nigeria's first Extended Producer Responsibility legislation, requiring manufacturers to take responsibility for their product waste. This law now serves as a model for African nations. Koko's TEDx talk Turning Trash into Treasure (2020) has been viewed over 2 million times, inspiring similar initiatives in Kenya and Ethiopia.