Deadline: June 13, 2025
Proposals are invited for the UNDP Nigeria Global Plastics Innovation Programme (GPIP) 2025. With funding from the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will support innovative solutions to address plastic pollution.
This open call by the Global Plastics Innovation Programme (GPIP) seeks to support grassroots change agents. Whether you are developing an eco-friendly material, running a community reuse initiative, redesigning packaging, or piloting a new policy tool — your idea matters. They are looking for unconventional, early-stage solutions rooted in local realities, designed with users in mind, and focused on scalable, inclusive, and sustainable impact. Applicants can focus on one innovation area or can propose multi-sector solutions.
Background
Plastic pollution in Nigeria is not just an environmental issue — it is a systemic development challenge. With over 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste generated annually, and less than 10% effectively recycled, the vast majority of plastic ends up in landfills, drainage systems, or water bodies, contributing to urban flooding, health hazards, and the breakdown of infrastructure (World Bank, 2022). In Lagos for example, plastic waste is one of the primary causes of blocked drainages, resulting in annual flood-related losses estimated at $4 billion (LASEPA, 2023).
This crisis intersects with multiple layers of inequality. Women, who make up a large percentage of informal waste workers, often operate without formal protections, access to markets, or decision-making power. Youth, meanwhile, face high unemployment rates, despite having the creativity and energy to drive green enterprise. Rural and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by the health risks and degraded environments caused by plastic pollution (UNEP, 2021).
At the same time, the plastic economy — if reimagined — holds transformative potential. According to UNIDO’s 2021 mapping of Nigeria’s plastic value chain, there are significant untapped opportunities for material innovation, closed-loop business models, community-led recycling, and circular financing tools that not only address pollution but create jobs, drive inclusive entrepreneurship, and strengthen local resilience.
Nigeria’s National Policy on Plastic Waste Management (2020) highlights the need for new technologies, behavioral shifts, and systems-level approaches to transition toward circularity. But top-down strategies alone are not enough. Solving this challenge requires the boldness and imagination of those closest to the problem — early-stage innovators, local builders, youth-led ventures, and community-based organizations who see the gaps, live the reality, and are ready to co-create a new path forward.
Grant
- Applicants can request grants between $10,000 – $20,000.
Eligibility
- Open to early-stage not-for-profit innovators, CBOs, and social impact organizations, community-based organisations tackling plastic pollution.
- Applicants should be based in Nigeria and the project should focus on Nigeria.
Application
Applications must be submitted via email ONLY to: [email protected]. The subject line of the Proposal should read: “NIGERIA-PLASTIC INNOVATION PROJECT-[ORGANIZATION NAME]”
For more information, visit Global Plastics Innovation Programme.
