![[Interview] Yoav Rottenberg, CEO, MavRDC,Tanzania](Images/Key Persons/Yoav Rottenberg-MavRDC.jpg)
[Interview] Yoav Rottenberg, CEO, MavRDC,Tanzania
MavRDC is a service provider for secure destruction of digital storage devices and general e-waste recycling in East Africa. The company’s founder and CEO Yoav Rottenberg explains the business model, the journey so far and the future plans for the startup.
Introduce your company
MavRDC is an environmental startup that provides solutions for recycling of electronic waste in Tanzania. The company’s mission is to establish and lead a self-sufficient recycling sector in East Africa – reducing the region’s overall environmental footprint and reducing the region’s current reliance on the export of e-waste.
After living and working in Tanzania for 5 years, we identified that there exists a gap between the needs of corporations for their e-waste disposal requirements and the available options provided in the market. We decided to take the initiative and invest in establishing a company that can bridge that gap and provide corporations with a service that is environmentally responsible and meets international standards for recycling while at the same time ensuring data from old devices does not leak and cyber security concerns are also addressed.
MavRDC currently provides two key services in Tanzania:
E-waste Recycling: we collect and recycle all forms of e-waste. We recycle some items locally in Tanzania while others are exported abroad for final recycling.
Secure Data Destruction: we provide secure shredding of items that can pose a cyber security threat when disposed. These include hard drives, network switches, mobile phones, flash drives, and other media devices that store sensitive data. We physically shred these devices with a dedicated industrial shredder before recycling them.
MavRDC is headquartered in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and provides services throughout all of Tanzania. The company is privately owned.
What industry/industries do you service?
We provide services to all industries operating in Tanzania. IT equipment is used by all sectors and disposal of e-waste is a challenge for companies from all industries. The key generators of e-waste in the region are the government, financial, and telecom sectors.
Is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic AND the work-from-home trend affecting your operations? How so?
The Covid-19 pandemic has had several impacts on our company. The main impact has been the significant rise in logistics costs, specifically in the shipping sector. MavRDC exports some of the e-waste we collect that cannot be recycled locally in Tanzania. The increase in shipping costs have had a direct impact on our operational costs.
The other notable impact is the effect the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the decision-making process of our potential clients and of potential investors. There is a higher hesitancy in the past 1-2 years due to the general instability in the markets around the world. We’ve noticed many companies prefer to wait with non-essential services where it is possible.
What is your company’s growth strategy for 2022? (New projects, expansion into new markets, new partnerships? etc)
MavRDC is currently looking at 3 key strategic goals for 2022.
Increase our capacity within Tanzania. This will be implemented by acquiring additional recycling equipment and hiring additional staff. Our aim is to increase the percentage of e-waste we are able to recycle locally in Tanzania and slowly reduce our reliance on exporting of e-waste.
Enter into a new business segment – refurbishing of computers. Some of the computers we collect can be refurbished and reused. We will be collecting these computers, fixing them and then either donating them or reselling them as second-hand computers.
Expand geographically. If our progress in 2022 will meet our expectations, we will look at expansion to a second market in East Africa and begin providing similar services in that market.
What are the long-term ambitions you’re aiming for, as an organization? (National? International? If international, what countries and markets?)
Our focus at the moment is on the East African region but in the long term we hope to build an organization that spans across Africa and provides professional and environmentally responsible recycling solutions for e-waste and other forms of waste.
What government policies can be implemented for companies to thrive in Tanzania?
We would like to see similar involvement by the government in the e-waste recycling sector as already exists in the sector of plastic waste. Government has an important role in ensuring companies dispose of their e-waste to reputable recyclers.
E-waste also has an impact on cyber security as old electronic waste can become a cyber security threat if not disposed properly. This is another segment which government regulations can play an important role in – ensuring sensitive items such as hard drives are properly destroyed before being disposed.
What are the opportunities for Cleantech in Africa in 2022?
Looking specifically at the East African region, we see a lot of potential for the Cleantech sector, especially when related to recycling. Plastic as an example is an area where East Africa is at the forefront with regards to government regulations and policies. Plastic bags are banned in most of the East African markets and other forms of plastic such as single-use plastics are slowly being limited or completely prohibited.
This involvement of the region’s governments creates significant opportunities for developing a thriving recycling sector in the region for all forms of waste.
