Uber for waste: Pakam, LAWMA record early wins 3 months after launch

.. Advancing Nigeria’s circular economy agenda

Just three months after its official market entry, Pakam, a Lagos-based climate-tech startup often described as the “Uber for Waste,” is already recording measurable impact across urban communities.

The platform’s early success is being driven by strong operational collaboration with the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), reinforcing efforts to modernise waste collection and recycling logistics in Nigeria.

Founded by Adeleye Odebunmi, Pakam digitises waste collection by enabling residents, businesses, and waste collectors to request, track, and manage pickups through a unified digital platform.

Built with accountability, traceability, and recyclables recovery at its core, Pakam is designed to support Nigeria’s transition toward a circular economy by keeping recyclable materials in productive use rather than diverting them to landfills.

According to Wunmi Ogunde, Chief Operating Officer of Pakam, user uptake has exceeded early projections, particularly among residents and micro-collectors seeking more sustainable waste disposal options. She said collaboration with LAWMA has significantly improved operational efficiency while reinforcing trust and compliance across field activities.

“The product’s adoption and growth have been driven by our Product Lead, Kenny Williams. From day one, Pakam was built to support real-time pickups, logistics routing, and collector verification at scale. These capabilities were made possible by a robust backend infrastructure and advanced geofencing algorithms developed by our Tech Lead, Sobowale Bukola, and further powered by our mobile applications and analytics dashboards. Alongside the efforts of our operations and development team, including Tosin Ola, Mobile Lead, and David Oladipupo, Design Lead, we built the entire platform in Nigeria without reliance on external or international partners. This local-first approach enabled us to design solutions tailored specifically to the realities of Nigerian communities,” she said.

‘’Pakam’s geofencing system emerged as a key differentiator, intelligently matching pickup requests to collectors based on proximity, capacity, and recycling capability. This functionality is critical for efficient digital waste operations in densely populated urban environments like Lagos.

With LAWMA’s regulatory and operational framework providing strong institutional backing, Pakam has been able to focus on data-driven optimisation, user education, and materials recovery. Sustainability advocates have highlighted the growing role of platforms like Pakam in reducing landfill pressure, strengthening recycling supply chains, and supporting Nigeria’s broader environmental infrastructure,’’ she added. She noted,

“As demand for responsible waste management continues to rise, Pakam’s early performance highlights the potential of technology-enabled solutions to drive circular economy outcomes in Nigeria and other emerging markets, ” she noted.