Faith Kuya (SafeSip Straws)
Groundwater is more likely to contain contaminants that can lead to illness—something Faith Kuya personally experienced growing up in Tanzania, inspiring the launch of her business.
Kabir Olaosebikan (Craft Planet)
Kabir Olaosebikan, the founder of Craft Planet, is a graduate of the Because Accelerator’s Fall 2021 Cohort. Craft Planet is a Nigeria-based business that develops interlocking construction blocks for use by building contractors as road pavement, flooring and roof tiling.
Prior to launching Craft Planet, Kabir taught classes on art recycling and entrepreneurship to students in his community. His passion for turning recyclables into something useful, combined with experience with flooding, led him to launch a business that works to limit trash in the environment.
In addition to his focus on reducing waste, Kabir works to empower women and youth through employment—collecting waste, processing collections, and educating students about proper waste management.
We recently had an opportunity to reconnect with him on where his business is at post-cohort and how he’s used funding received from an investor in the Because Advisor Network.
HOW HAS THE BECAUSE ACCELERATOR IMPACTED YOUR BUSINESS?
“The Because Accelerator enabled me to position my initiative—I gained capacity to manage my business and people efficiently. We’ve been able to scale up our activities and attract investment, and we have increased our monthly revenue from $2,730 to $9,370.
We were also able to adopt a model that the Advisor Network shared with us that allowed women to become plastic collectors—this has brought a huge success to the company, revenue and employment.”
HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO GROW YOUR TEAM?
“My team took advantage of the Because Accelerator by listening to the different facilitators and also appearing during the weekly session with my coach, Mr. Tom Smith. After the cohort, I was able to organize a mini workshop for the team to reflect on what has been taught.
The program and funding we received created 33 direct jobs for women across four communities.”
WHAT DID THE FUNDING HELP YOU ACCOMPLISH AT CRAFT PLANET?
“The funding allowed us to build a furnace to facilitate the production of plastic waste into eco-bricks, as well as kickstart the incentive-based collection program for women that has been working effectively.”
Kabir has big plans for Craft Planet, with a goal of providing jobs to 130 women in the community and generating $100,000 in monthly revenue by 2028. Since completing the Because Accelerator program, he has received several awards—including being selected as a delegate to represent Nigeria at the 17th United Nation Climate Change Conference of Youth and Children.
The Because Accelerator is a 16-week virtual training program designed to help entrepreneurs take their innovative products to the next level. Learn more about the Because Accelerator and how it helps entrepreneurs from around the world scale their businesses and create jobs in areas impacted by poverty.
- Tags: Accelerator Alumni
