Author: Njoki Kangethe

Trash to Cash: The Rise of Africa’s Waste Entrepreneurs Njoki Kangethe  Introduction: Rethinking Waste For decades, waste in Africa has been framed almost exclusively as a crisis: a visible sign of rapid urbanization, weak infrastructure, and governance challenges. It has been discussed in terms of sanitation, public health, and environmental degradation, rarely in terms of […]

Broken Systems: Why Waste Management Fails in African Cities Njoki Kangethe Introduction: A System Under Strain In many African cities, waste is overwhelming the systems designed to manage it. What begins as a missed collection day can quickly escalate into overflowing bins, clogged drainage systems, and expanding dumpsites that stretch beyond their intended limits. From […]

The People Who Clean Our Cities: Inside Africa’s Informal Waste Economy Njoki Kangethe  Introduction: The Invisible System Every day, before most cities fully wake up, work has already begun. In the early hours of the morning, men and women move through streets, dumpsites, and alleyways, collecting what others have thrown away. Plastic bottles, scrap metal, […]

Part 1: Africa’s Waste Crisis: Problem or Opportunity? Njoki Kangethe A Growing Mountain Across Africa’s cities, a quiet crisis is building; not in headlines or high-level policy discussions, but in overflowing dumpsites, clogged drainage systems, and informal settlements where waste accumulates faster than it is collected. From Nairobi to Lagos and Accra, rapid urbanization is […]

Njoki Kangethe LEDE: Across Africa, a new urban vision is taking shape. From Konza Technopolis in Kenya to Kigali Innovation City in Rwanda and emerging hubs in Lagos and Cape Town, tech cities have been positioned as symbols of transformation. They represent ambition, modernity, and the promise of a digitally connected future. Over the course […]

Njoki Kangethe PART 4: ‘TECH JOBS FOR WHOM? THE ELITES VS. ORDINARY AFRICANS’ The Promise of Opportunity Across Africa, tech cities are being built on the promise of jobs, innovation, and a new generation of entrepreneurs. From Konza Technopolis in Kenya to Kigali Innovation City in Rwanda and the tech districts growing around Lagos and […]

Njoki Kangethe PART 3: TECH CITIES AND THE PRICE OF PROGRESS: WHO GETS PUSHED OUT? Gentrification in the African Urban Context As tech cities rise across Africa, they bring with them a powerful promise: modern housing, improved infrastructure, new businesses, and economic opportunity. But alongside this growth, another quieter process is unfolding; one that is […]