In this episode, we speak with Elmar from Africa Collect Textiles. An organization dedicated to turning textile waste into opportunity while creating social and environmental impact.

Africa Collect Textiles’ story started with a simple but powerful idea: what if discarded textiles could become a resource instead of waste? By collecting, sorting, and transforming used clothing and footwear, they give materials a second life — while creating jobs and reducing environmental impact.

Since launch, Africa Collect Textiles has built impressive impact: collecting over 299,083 kg of textiles, saving 1,824,409 kg of CO₂, and conserving 5.98 billion liters of water. At the same time, the organization has created 200+ jobs, contributing to fair and meaningful employment.

Currently, the organization has 21 employees and supports around 300 people indirectly through its ecosystem. Their mission is to build strong collection and recycling systems, raise awareness, and drive local innovation — while pushing for greater responsibility in the fashion industry.

In this episode, we explore how they work across the full value chain — from collection and hand-sorting to redistribution, upcycling, and circular product design — and how they engage communities, partners, and local craftsmanship to turn textile waste into real value on the ground.

The Green Times is a media platform for the road to a new, sustainable economy and the role of entrepreneurship in shaping it.

Want to learn more about The Green Times? https://www.thegreentimes.eu

Today I speak with Denis Karema, the founder of SokoFresh: a Kenyan agritech company providing solar-powered cold storage and logistics services for smallholder farmers.

What makes this story personal is where it starts. Denis’ grandma was a farmer. He saw firsthand how hard people worked on the land, yet how little progress was made over time. Later, through his work across accelerators and innovation programs, he began to understand that the problem wasn’t just farming itself, but everything that happens after harvest.

Despite millions invested in training of farmers, up to half of the produce was still being lost. That realisation - that the system, not the effort, was broken - is what ultimately led him to build Sokofresh.

In 2019, Denis founded SokoFresh as a venture of Dutch venture building studio Enviu.

Since launch, SokoFresh has built a network of cold storage hubs that help farmers reduce waste and improve income.

The Green Times is a media platform for the road to a new, sustainable economy and the role of entrepreneurship in shaping it.

Want to learn more about The Green Times? https://www.thegreentimes.eu

In this episode of The Green Times Redefining Success, we talk to Joseph Nguthiru.

Joseph, 2025 winner of the UN Young Champion of the Earth award, is the founder of HyaPak, a circular economy solution that converts invasive water hyacinth into biodegradable packaging. This simultaneously tackles plastic pollution, manages invasive species, and improves livelihoods for affected communities. HyaPak won the best innovation in Nature, Food and Water systems at COP 28.

Beyond HyaPak, Joseph is the co-founder of M-Situ, an AI early-warning system for detecting deforestation, wildfires, and charcoal burning. M-Situ is ranked as outstanding in the UNESCO IRCAI top 100 AI projects for SDGs.

He is also the co-founder of AfroClimate, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering African climate entrepreneurs. Joseph's work in innovation, science, and policy advocacy has also led to him becoming an Obama Foundation Leader and part of 40 Under 40 Africa.

The Green Times is a media platform for the road to a new, sustainable economy and the role of entrepreneurship in shaping it.

Want to learn more about The Green Times? https://www.thegreentimes.eu