Abwezi School Bags make affordable upcycled backpacks from disposed plastic bags. The company collects plastic bags from local trash dump sites and uses these as their raw material. Because many Malawian students do not have stable access to electricity, the backpack features integrated solar panels that supply lighting, facilitating after-school learning.

This case study has been created as part of Footprints Africa's work to build a comprehensive open-source database of circular economy initiatives in Africa. We are doing this in collaboration with the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN), as part of our programme to support the circular economy transition in Africa.

Image retrieved from https://www.seed.uno/enterprise-profiles/abwezi-school-bags