In Lagos, a city that generates an estimated 13,000 metric tons of waste daily, the most valuable climate infrastructure is not a new incinerator or a sorting plant. It is a smartphone. Scrapays Technologies, a Lagos-based startup founded in 2019, is building a digital marketplace on that premise, connecting households, businesses, and a vast network of informal collectors to turn scrap into a traceable, bankable commodity [TechCabal, Sep 2021].
The asset-light aggregation wedge
Scrapays avoids the capital-intensive trap of owning trucks or processing facilities. Instead, its wedge is a hyperlocal agent network, managed through USSD codes, a mobile app, and a web portal. These agents,over 1,900 signed up according to a 2023 investor report,coordinate pickups, weigh materials on provided smart scales, and feed scrap into a logistics chain that ends with processors and manufacturers [The Catalyst Fund, ~2023]. The company takes a 20% cut of each transaction, sharing 45% with the waste producer and 35% with the collector [Jobtech Alliance, ~2022]. This model aims to formalize the informal sector by wrapping each micro-transaction in digital tools: inventory management, e-wallets, and performance-based loans for agents looking to scale their own micro-businesses.
Embedding finance into the waste stream
The platform's deeper bet is that managing scrap flow creates a financial identity. By tracking an agent's volume and reliability, Scrapays can underwrite small loans for purchasing more scrap or equipment. This embedded finance layer is critical for growth in a cash-driven economy. For larger clients, Scrapays offers an enterprise solution, providing data-driven insights and full traceability for corporate ESG goals, mapping waste generation and recovery reach [Scrapays.com/about & /enterprise, 2026]. The traction, while dated, shows the model in motion: in testing, the platform reported recovering 114,320 kg of scrap and generating $43,639 in revenue [The Catalyst Fund, ~2023].
The team and the backing
Co-founders Tope Sulaimon (CEO) and Boluwatife Arewa have built a platform that speaks to both operational grit and product strategy. Arewa brought 7-8 years in product management and operations, including coordinating across multiple continents for an HR tech firm [Orange Corners, Unknown]. Sulaimon, with a background in applied geology, articulates the venture in terms of job creation and landfill diversion [Crunchbase, Unknown]. Their early backing is a mosaic of impact-focused accelerators and grants rather than a traditional venture round, with total disclosed funding around $368,000 from supporters like the Catalyst Fund, Jobtech Alliance, and MTN Cloud Accelerator [PitchBook, 2025].
| Investor/Backer | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|
| The Catalyst Fund | Grant/Impact Investor | Backed agent network expansion [The Catalyst Fund, ~2023] |
| Jobtech Alliance | Grant/Investor | Supported agent model launch in 2022 [Jobtech Alliance, ~2022] |
| MTN Cloud Accelerator | Corporate Accelerator | Part of MTN's startup program |
| Orange Corners | Incubator | Dutch entrepreneurial development initiative |
| Forward.Inc | Investor | Early-stage investor |
Where the unit economics get real
The informal waste sector is famously fragmented and resilient, which presents both the opportunity and the core challenge for any digital intermediary. Scrapays must prove its 20% fee provides enough value to become indispensable, rather than a tax agents learn to work around. Its competitors are not just other tech platforms like Wecyclers or RecyclePoints, but the entrenched, cash-based relationships that have moved scrap for generations. The company's next phase requires moving beyond testing metrics and pilot states (Lagos, Ogun, Ondo) to demonstrate scaled, recurring revenue and named enterprise contracts [Jobtech Alliance, ~2022].
A back-of-the-envelope calculation using their disclosed test figures is illustrative. The $43,639 revenue on 114,320 kg of scrap implies an average price of roughly $0.38 per kilogram. If Scrapays' 20% share is derived from that total value, it translates to about $8,700 in revenue for the platform from that recovered volume. To build a substantial business, the focus must be on multiplying those agent transactions by several orders of magnitude.
Scrapays is not trying to out-muscle the giant, informal recycling economy. It is trying to digitize its ledger. The incumbent it must beat is the trusty notepad and the fistful of cash, by proving that a digital record, a smart scale, and access to credit are worth the premium.
Sources
- [TechCabal, Sep 2021] Meet the startup transforming informal recycling in Nigeria | https://techcabal.com/2021/09/10/scrapays-is-transforming-informal-recycling-in-nigeria/
- [The Catalyst Fund, ~2023] Why we invested in Scrapays, a startup enabling waste entrepreneurship in Nigeria | https://www.thecatalystfund.com/insights/why-we-invested-in-scrapays-a-startup-enabling-waste-entrepreneurship-in-nigeria
- [Jobtech Alliance, ~2022] Why We Invested: Scrapays, tackling Nigeria's waste management problem | https://jobtechalliance.com/why-we-invested-scrapays-tackling-nigerias-waste-management-problem-through-innovative-technology-driving-job-growth/
- [PitchBook, 2025] Scrapays 2025 Company Profile: Valuation, Funding & Investors | https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/492853-51
- [Crunchbase, Unknown] Scrapays - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/scrapays
- [Orange Corners, Unknown] Scrapays profile | Source from research snippets
- [Scrapays.com/about & /enterprise, 2026] Company website pages for About and Enterprise solutions | https://scrapays.com/about