Build the Marketplace That Cleans Up Nigeria's Plastic Crisis

Nigeria is among the world's top sources of ocean plastic. The infrastructure problem is not processing capacity — recycling companies in Lagos, Kano, and Port Harcourt are running at under 40% capacity due to insufficient feedstock collection. Meanwhile, millions of tonnes of plastic waste litter waterways, streets, and farmland. The market signal is there. The aggregation platform is not. Your challenge is to design a plastic waste collection marketplace that connects individual waste pickers and community collection points with industrial recyclers. It must set transparent price signals per plastic type, handle logistics from collection point to recycler, enable mobile money payment to waste pickers within 24 hours of drop-off, and provide data that recyclers can use for supply planning. Submit a platform design document (max 12 pages) including: the marketplace mechanics, plastic type classification and pricing model, logistics network design, payment infrastructure, quality control to prevent contamination, and a plan to process 500 tonnes per month within 12 months across two cities. Judging criteria: 35% marketplace mechanics and incentive design, 30% logistics and quality control, 20% payment infrastructure, 15% scale plan.