In many African cities, plastic waste is more than an environmental problem. When rubbish blocks drains, heavy rainfall can quickly turn into dangerous flooding.
In Cameroon, BleagLee Waste Management is tackling this challenge with technology. The company uses drones to identify waste hotspots and AI-powered analysis to improve collection planning. This helps teams locate rubbish before it builds up in drains and other high-risk areas.
The company’s progress shows that waste collection can also become a climate-resilience service. With support from the YouthADAPT programme, BleagLee financed a processing plant, added two collection trucks and trained 200 additional waste pickers.
According to the African Development Bank, the company expanded its workforce from 31 to 124 people. Its revenue increased by 181%, while the amount of waste it recycled tripled.
BleagLee has also attracted major support for its work, including US$50,000 from the ClimaTech Run competition, a US$400,000 World Food Programme grant for a project in Dakar, and a US$1 million Milken–Motsepe Prize.
Its technology is now being used in Dakar to map plastic-waste hotspots and improve collection routes. This demonstrates how a solution developed in Cameroon can be adapted to help other African cities.
BleagLee’s story is important because it connects three urgent needs: cleaner communities, protection from flooding and employment. It shows that African innovation does not always begin with creating something completely new. Sometimes it begins by using existing technology intelligently to solve a real local problem.
Real people, Real progress, Real Africa.
Source: African Development Bank — “From plastic-choked drains to flood-proof cities: BleagLee’s waste-to-resilience transformation in Cameroon.”
Image: AI-generated illustration by MyHappyAfrica.
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