Chukwubike Nnoli is not new in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship space. He founded Zubnol Ventures in 2011, which later metamorphosed into Zubnol Investment Limited.
Currently, he manages Zubnol Global Link Industry Limited, which produces pillows, duvets and interior decoration products and supplies them to retail stores, open markets and several outlets.
He also doubles as the CEO of Zubnol Global Recycling Industries, which recycles pet bottles into raw materials that are required by factories for the manufacturing of pillows and other related products.
The Anambra State-based factory is located in the heart of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
“We have the capacity to recycle 200,000 kg of pet bottles per month,” he says.
“We hope to triple this by 2026,” he explains.
The chief executive officer says he now engages nearly 30 staff members, including more than 100 individuals he describes as ‘collectors.’
As a CEO of a growing recycling plant. Nnoli says he is excited about cleaning the environment, which is his passion.
“I feel good because are removing the dirt, we are removing the waste from our environment. That helps to keep the environment less harmful to us,” he says.
“I feel very good about that. It makes me feel happy that I’m part of those contributing to a clean environment and clean energy.”
How did the idea come about? The entrepreneur says it came while running his pillow factory.
“We have always known that recycling output is part of the materials needed for making our fibre pillows,” he says. “And all of them come from pet bottles.”
“So, I have always believed that, maybe, one day, we would have an opportunity to go into recycling, especially pet bottles, which would be useful in making our products.”
He says as an entrepreneur in the manufacturing space, his vision is to see Nigeria’s industrial dream come true.
“We want to be part of those who make the Nigerian dream some true,” Nnoli says. “We want to see the African dream, the Nigerian dream of being a manufacturing giant come true.”
Despite the good optics, he says sometimes challenges weigh him down on a personal level, pushing him into asking whether he actually made the right decisions to set up these plants.
“It has not been easy. Sometimes, I would feel discouraged and ask myself why I did not go into a secular job. When I look at the economy, inflation, policies, and a lot of other things happening in the country, I sometimes feel discouraged.
“However, it’s settled on me that we have to grow the business. So, gradually, something that was just an idea has memorphosed into a small business that is growing and is gaining international acceptance,” he reveals
Nnoli says God is making the journey a little bit easier for him and his team.
“Having been in the business of recycling for one year now, I think we made the right decision. Everything will not go as planned but, gradually, the joy of seeing my environment clean – removing the waste and processing it, recycling it and selling to manufacturers – makes me happy. I am happy that we made the decision,” he says.
He discloses that Zubnol Global Recycling got assistance from the Coca-Cola Foundation and TechnoServe to set up the recycling plant, stressing that his sister and brother were also instrumental in setting up the business.
“I have a dear sister and a dear brother who helped me in setting up the business. They are also part of this business,” he says, stressing the importance of family support.
According to him, recycling is a very big business and also creates jobs for many Nigerians.
“The industry is estimated at over $5 billion and could reach $15 billion by 2028,” he reveals.
“You have to get collectors, aggregators, among others. A lot of people are involved. You also have to get the government agencies involved. You have to go for training and it’s cost intensive,” he notes, stressing that his company still needs more capital for expansion.
“We need funds to buy one or two more pieces of equipment,” he explains.
Every business has its own challenges. And recycling is not different.
According to him, “The major challenge of being in the recycling business is trying to get to the rural areas to pick up the recycled materials, the plastic waste. Sometimes, the collectors think you are making too much money, not just being part of a greener initiative.”
He adds, “So, sometimes, they want to sell pet bottles at exorbitant prices.”
On his company’s plans for the next five years to 10 years, the entrepreneur says, “Our plans for the next 5 years -10 years is to be one of the best recycling firms in Nigeria and Africa. We want to come up with more modern facilities and also be able to have pickup centres scattered across nations, across regions.”
“Our goal is to be a one-stop shop for recycling.”
On why he is always interested in manufacturing, the entrepreneur says, “We want to employ those who want to work but can’t find jobs. We want to help our women, our youths, our fathers to get better jobs. We also want to make Nigeria a better place, ensuring that it becomes an industrial giant. We don’t always have to import what we need here when we have local capacities to make them.”
