STORY BEHIND THE BANANA FIBRE PAPER PACKAGING

Out of her personal experience, Dorcas got the inspiration that led to her invention of banana-fibre-based paper bags. According to Dorcas, she used to deliver vegetables at home to support herself as a student. She delivered the vegetables in plastic bags until a customer returned her goods, saying that the vegetables were of poor quality. “Some vegetables, especially tomatoes, wilted due to the heat from the bag”, Dorcas recounts.

Realizing the problem with packaging vegetables with plastic bags, Dorcas thought a better way to do her packaging was to use kraft paper bags. However, this alternative was not sustainable due to the huge cost of the kraft paper bags which significantly reduced her profit. Dorcas, as a matter of necessity,  came up with the idea of creating her paper for her packaging.

“By nature, I am an environmentalist. I thought I had to find a raw material that was plentiful, not too expensive, and did not contribute to climate change. That’s how I discovered that banana trees have a very high cellulose content compared to other plants. I decided to start with banana trees”, Dorcas explains.

ABOUT ECO PLUS

Dorcas Mumbembe founded Eco Plus in 2020. In two years, the business has participated in more than 15 entrepreneurship contests and competitions in Africa. Eco Plus has won several prizes and grants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in Africa, and around the world. In 2021, the enterprise sold more than 20,000 paper bags in the Congolese market. Eco Plus ranked among the 15 best start-ups in the world participating in the Circular Economy Program in Germany.

Currently, the company has clients in the DRC including major groups such as Bolloré and Total. Since February 2022, Eco Plus has been the only African and French-speaking company to take part in the EU-funded Circular Economy Program.

THE WAY FORWARD

Eco Plus is focused mainly on the DRC market. Dorcas Mumbembe has plans to patent her idea as well as to enter international markets.

Dorcas wants to expand her business to employ more Congolese than she is doing now. This, for her, “is her greatest pride”- as she can help others to make a living through her business.

Congo, just like many other countries is involved in the fight against plastic bags. In 2021, Eco Plus paper packaging saved 20,000 plastic bags, particularly in the food industry, fashion industry, and supermarkets.

Eco Plus is targetting markets in Central Africa, Africa, and the rest of the world to also benefit from its banana fibre-based paper packaging.

REFERENCE

Information from www.africawomenexperts.com was used in this story