An Econet Wireless subsidiary company, Cassava Smartech Group has expanded its footprints by venturing in the waste management industry, leveraging on its rich technological base to synergize already existing players in the sector for efficient waste collection.
This latest innovation, projected to create over 5 000 jobs is inspired by the need to create smart communities at a time most local authorities in the country are failing to put up with rising waste levels.
Through its new subsidiary company, CleanCity, Cassava will ride on the Group’s ride hailing service, Vaya App allowing clients to schedule waste collection at their homes, offices and communities, while making payments via the ecocash platform.
CleanCity will also provide clean energy solutions as the company will be focusing on landfill energy by harvesting bio-gas from the waste.
“It’s not about offering services; it’s also about making a difference in our communities,” CleanCity chief executive, Lovemore Nyatsime said at the launch.
“We are motivated by the 5000 jobs that we are going to create in this particular ecosystem. We are creating a multi-million dollar industry out of the problem of waste in this country,” he added.
The company will initially operate in Harare, establishing franchisees in all of Harare’s 32 residential suburbs before it expands into other cities.
While this innovation attests to an efficiently run ecosystem of intertwined services amongst the Group’s subsidiaries such as Vaya and Ecocash, market watchers are marveling at the reality of a synergy within the value chain of waste management and recycling with other small players who will immensely benefit from Cassava’s technological forte.
CleanCity has brought on board franchisees ranging from waste collection entities, waste recycling and up-cycling companies, cleaners, and small scale truckers.
Sunshine Zimbabwe Group, a waste management company and CleanCity’s biggest franchisee said the partnership will improve its geographic coverage in the country and offer immense opportunities from them and other small players in the sector.
“It’s a platform that is going to allow existing players in the industry to plug into the system and also being able to provide their services and also being enabled. I think one of the fundamental issue that we realize are very critical in waste management is the issue of transportation and with this application you are basically accessing shared resources on an organized platform,” Sunshine Zimbabwe Group, deputy executive director, Cliff Chivanga told 263Chat Business.
“It’s going to give us opportunities to grow an also increase the geographical coverage of areas that we are reaching in terms of collection, value addition while creating many other opportunities attached to this innovation,” added Chivanga.
Harare has been undergoing rapid population growth in recent years and this has overwhelmed the local authority’s capacity to deal with waste management across the city.
However the wave of digital innovation sweeping across the continent is widely tipped to offer solutions to these challenges.
“One of the things we always make sure we do is that we leverage on technology and deploy technology which can impact people’s lives positively. We believe that technology has got the capacity to transform people’s lives and will continue to roll products and services which leverage on this technology,” Cassava CEO, Eddie Chibi said.
