Esther Oluwatoyin Adebayo

A Nigerian environmental activist and founder of 'Clean Nigeria Movement' leading grassroots campaigns against plastic pollution since 2020

Esther Oluwatoyin Adebayo emerged as a pivotal figure in West Africa's environmental advocacy landscape with her 2020 launch of the Clean Nigeria Movement. Born in Lagos in 1997, she mobilized over 50,000 volunteers through social media campaigns to clean up coastal areas and riverbanks polluted by plastic waste. Her initiative 'Plastic to Profit' trained 3,000 youths in upcycling plastic into furniture and building materials, generating $1.2M in microloans through partnerships with UNDP and local banks. In 2023, her lobbying efforts contributed to Nigeria's landmark ban on single-use plastics in five major cities. Esther's TEDx talk Plastic Wars: How We Can Win has garnered 2.1M views, inspiring similar movements across Ghana and Senegal. She collaborates with MIT's Climate CoLab on AI-driven waste management systems now deployed in 12 African nations.