IDEA 2: 52 WEEKS,52 BUSINESS STARTUP IDEAS

IDEA 2 OF 52 - Waste Disposal Business

1. The Idea

Let me once again introduce you to a country with a very high rate of unemployment, Nigeria. It is not a secret in the sense that it is a common saying in Nigeria, that there are no Jobs. If this translates to mean that there is nothing to do, wouldn’t this present a country that is so perfectly working well, and neatly organized, having little or no vacancies for new workers or improvement upon what the situation is??

Well this happens to not be the case with Nigeria as the following pictures will show you what is obtainable across different cities in Nigeria.

Before we see the pictures, let me share something that happened.

Some time ago, I was on www.Nairaland.com forum, where I saw a picture of one pedestrian bridge in Port Harcourt Nigeria, which was littered with rubbish, dumped there. This picture was posted by a Young Nigerian who seemed to want to slight the then leaders of the State as inferred from his post.

A thought came to my mind, What if? Just what if, instead of just taking a pic and sharing it on social media with derogatory remarks against the leadership of the state, He got some of his friends, they wear (hire) reflective vests, took a picture of the bad state at the top of the pedestrian bridge, then took a picture of them cleaning, and finally a picture of the new look. Then afterwards, juxtapose or pic-mix the three pictures, citing,

Before, During and After.

Contact XoXo cleaning professionals

0803X –xxx-xxx for your Corporate, Industrial,  and residential  cleaning services.

Imagine sharing that on Social media and it goes viral. Right there and then, a Business has been formed.

You may not be interested in this, but i urge you to still follow my thoughts it could lead you into something else you may be inspired to do.

Lets see some pictures of some sightings in different cities in Nigeria.

This first picture was taken along Ikwerre road, strip between Rumuigbo and Rumuokoro in Port Harcourt, December 2016.

This second picture is Douglas road, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

This could also be seen even in the center of excellence, Lagos

The picture above was taken at Lekki, Lagos, and some weeks after this picture was taken, there were reports of some flooding at some parts of Lekki.

So Ebis, what is the Business Idea here???

The Business:
 

I will share this idea in a way, anyone who is interested could choose what area, and what scale they choose to run or explore this Business opportunity.

Check around your environment, outside your gate, or somewhere in your estate, compound in Nigeria, you may find a big drum, or trash bins positioned for use by either just your home, or shared with other people living in your neighborhood. While this may be so for some, this is not so for many.

There are environments in cities around Nigeria that do not have such bins and arrangements. There are market locations too, where people carelessly dump their rubbish by the road because of the excuse of not having such bins available for their use.

Whilst this is supposed to be a Job handled by the local councils at the local government levels, there seems to be a huge gap in meeting this important need.

You do not need to have too much money to be able to join in on this.

1. Aspects of this Business

• Find out how to break in through the existing cabals
• Understand the supply chain
• Find areas with waste unattended to
• Know the closest Government dumpsite
• Rent a truck (Pickup van)
• Get your workers
• Register as a waste disposal contractor
• Submit your proposal stating the areas (location) you want to cover
• Ensure you understand the total cost of operations
• Enter agreement with local government to collect revenue from the service users.

So, in areas where they don’t currently have waste disposal contractors visiting regularly to dispose of their waste, you can seek to break in and offer such services. It could be in some remote settlements, markets, schools, etc.

It is important to note that, in an area where they already have a waste disposal company operating, trying to break in will be contending or competing with people who may be having that as their means of livelihood. You can displace them if you have better service delivery, or you could go look for other areas in serious need of such disposal service.

So the operation is simple.

Get the trash from the bins (where provided), if not, your team could figure out how to get them on your van (truck), and then head straight to the dumpsite.

You don’t even have to own a truck, you can rent one for the day of the week your team will be working.

You don’t also need to have all the money to start this, two or more people can pool their resources to make this work. Government interferences or not having money as excuse

Well you may not need the government to pay you for this, but will need to get express permission to collect money from the people whose waste your company is disposing through the local government council tax/revenue collection teams.

2. Why??? Is there a market for this?

From the above submissions, and as can be evidently seen in different areas in cities around Nigeria, there is a good opportunity for this business. In some instances, people even dispose waste at the middle of the road.

A good disposal of waste is important with regards to general public health, and waste disposal into gutters and open drains does pose grave danger as they limit proper drainage, which increases the likelihood of flood.

3. The Business model Canvas

• Value proposition

Clean, regular, efficient and well timed waste disposal service providers, that will ensure waste bins are attended to before they spill over in good time living the environment clean and thus improving public health.

• Customer Segment

i. Leaders/Owners of settlements with irregular, or no waste disposal operators

ii. Heads of Associations of Market operators and areas with high human activities and insufficient waste disposal provisions

• Customer Channels

i. Estate management
ii. Estate and neighborhood associations
iii. Customer service centers (could be virtual - Phone), but better when there is a physical   location the customers could go in for complaints or enquiries where they can have direct interaction with a customer support assistant.

• Customer Relationship

i. Direct

ii. Indirectly through the revenue collectors

• Key activities

i. Waste disposal

ii. Logistics & operations management

iii. General business management (Finance and Admin)

• Key resources

i. Startup funds

ii. Truck/Pickup van

• 
  

Customer support assistants

• Key partners

The Local government authorities

Government waste management agencies (regulatory agencies)

Estate or neighborhood associations

Banks and financial services

Dumpsite managements

• Cost structure

Registration and Licensing

Truck/Pickup Van rental

Salary and wages for workers

Work tools (Nose mask, hand gloves, work overalls, shovels, etc.)

• Revenue Streams

Sanitation dues payment collected from the service users

4. Competition

To break in to this business as pointed earlier, one might have to compete to already existing service providers. It is important therefore to carry adequate research to know whom the operators are and the areas they cover. Sometimes the competition will be a government owned agency, which may be hugely understaffed or just inefficient.

One must therefore apply to support the government by taking over the operations of waste disposal in some areas where the government agency might have been failing or too stretched to cope.

5. Risks

Government interference and changes in policies can hugely affect this business. Example, if you start operating and serving an area, due to the possibility of executive recklessness in Nigeria, you could just wake up to meet a new government agency that will offer same service you are offering but with much more support, and that could spell doom for your business.

So it is important to do all you can to be properly registered, documented and enter into agreements that can protect you. Join unions and associations that can speak up when your business is unfairly treated.

Get business insurance were possible.

6. Financial estimates

I do not have exact figures people pay as dues for sanitation, as this may vary from place to place. On cost of starting up

Check online and do more research on cost associated in the operations of this business as highlighted in the cost structure segment of the Business model canvas section  of this article.

Check

• Cost of Truck/Pickup van rental
• Wages for workers
• Registration with Government
• Small office rental (Customer service center)
• Dedicated phone line provision.

End Notes

In this Article, we have seen and explore the possibilities of joining in on this very important business value chain and I believe if more people entered into this Business, it will do a whole lot of good in creating employment and in keeping our environment clean.

Thanks for joining me in this series, See you next week as I show you one of those Businesses you can do with little or no initial startup funds. Comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.

ARTICLE BY MR EBIS

Follow Mr. Ebis on twitter @mrebis

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Got any business idea to share with us? You can write us via our Email thebiznesblog@gmail.com. 

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