Six businesses champion Reckitt’s ‘Fight For Access Accelerator’ program in Nigeria

In a significant stride towards addressing Nigeria’s critical water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) challenges, the Reckitt Fight for Access Accelerator has introduced a cohort of six social businesses poised to make a lasting impact.

The six businesses are Let’s Build for Humanity, Onyeisi Care Foundation, Alora Reusable Pads, Toiletpride, SOSO Care as well as Kiddies and Brands.

After a rigorous selection process which saw over 200 applications, these six businesses will get access to two boot camps with over 30+ hours of skill-based volunteering, 36+ hours dedicated to support them, and nine Reckitt mentors.

With only 10 per cent of Nigerians enjoying access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, this accelerator sparks hope for building towards a brighter, more sustainable future.

Meet the six brilliant entrepreneurs and their innovative models and impact-oriented solutions:Let’s Build for Humanity – Restrom founder and UN Sustainable Development Solutions fellow, Michael Ojo, teachesi’ young Nigerians about effective hygiene practices.

Let’s Build for Humanity goes beyond the conventional approach of constructing toilets; they create opportunities. “This model involves crafting high-quality mobile toilets and selling them to micro-entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs then install sanitation units in private homes, schools, and residential compounds. The collected waste undergoes a transformation at a specialised facility, turning it into organic fertiliser and livestock feed,” the company said.

Imagine school water systems that are powered by the sun where clean, safe water flows freely, and hygiene education thrives. That’s precisely what the Onyeisi Care Foundation’s WASH Project is all about.

The Foundation, founded by Kenneth Ogbodo is focused on installing solar-powered boreholes and toilet facilities in schools with the objective of increasing access to quality education, improved health, and promoting hygiene practices to young Nigerians who need it the most.

Onyeisi Care Foundation is also developing an impact monitoring app to maintain their commitment and transparency to the bold target of 500 installations of their solution across Nigeria by 2030.

Next is the Alora Reusable Pads. Founded by Sarah Kuponyi, the Alora Reusable Pads strives to solve “period poverty” by producing and selling eco-friendly reusable menstrual hygiene products that offer an affordable and environmentally friendly alternative to disposable napkins.

Toiletpride addresses Nigeria’s sanitation challenges by tackling open defecation, affecting 48 million people as per a 2021 WASH report. Their strategy involves resolving two primary issues: the lack of access to toilets and a low demand for their construction.

SOSO Care is an insuretech social enterprise on a mission like no other. They’re turning recyclable garbage into a financial lifeline, making micro health insurance accessible to millions of uninsured Nigerians living in underserved areas, including pregnant women and children.

The way it works is that local community members can collect recyclable waste such as glass and plastic bottles, and drop them off at specific SOSO Care locations. Partner agents then sell the collected waste to recycling companies and turn the earnings into a health fund that covers the modest $1 monthly individual health insurance premium offered by SOSO Care.

Kiddies and Brands founder, Nneka Osili, says the company is on a mission to transform hand-washing into a vibrant, memorable adventure for primary school students.

Having written and supplied over 100,000 copies of hand washing and oral hygiene storybooks, the team is committed to pursuing their mission of establishing proper hand-washing techniques to 300 primary schools in the Lagos state of Nigeria.

‍The Fight for Access Accelerator is in line with Reckitt’s belief that access to high-quality health, hygiene and nutrition is not a privilege but a universal human right. Reckitt has partnered with Yunus Social Business to catalyse innovative social enterprises that offer solutions in WASH to parts of the world that need it the most.

Reckitt received a total of 238 applications and filtered 88 applications. 28 interviews were conducted, and 15 organizations, of which 27% are female-led, were shortlisted after the application window. 70 entrepreneurs were contacted directly, and over 50+ sourcing partner services were engaged. It has two boot camps involving 6 social businesses and 3 Reckitt brands so far.