GreenHubAfrica Foundation has unveiled a Climate Action SuperHeroes (CASH) Youth Network, a digital-first platform, to train and empower 50,000 young changemakers in climate-smart innovation and circular-economy enterprises.
The organization, which is an environmental sustainability media platform, unveiled the platform at a hybrid event at UN House in Abuja to commemorate this year’s World Environment Day Exhibition (WEDex) 2025.
The vision and mission of the foundation, according to Henry Bassey, founder and chief executive officer of GreenHubAfrica, is for a greener and more sustainable continent.
Bassey enumerated the huge employment and empowerment opportunities in the waste management value chain and how youth engagement has economic benefits while protecting the environment.
Earlier, he had acknowledged the 2024 Climate Action SuperHeroes (CASH) school outreach top performers who continue to demonstrate the knowledge they acquired through the CASH programme.
Bassey said WEDex, which started as a virtual event due to restrictions of COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, has become a movement, adding that the 2025 edition of WEDex is another milestone after five years of COVID-19 devastation.
WEDex has grown to become a highly sought after platform with annual events on WEDex platforms, including webinars, podcasts, and outcome capture sessions, resulting in a documented blueprint to climate action from the young and old.
In 1972, the United Nations designated June 5 as World Environment Day, marking the start of a global movement to raise awareness and accelerate action for the protection of our environment.
Bassey noted the progress recorded by the foundation from years of partnership and how WED annual events held at the UN House, have transformed conversations into panel-driven and public-private engagements.
“Today, WEDex 2025 stands not merely as an event, but a movement—a bold expression of action and accountability. What began as a webinar series during lockdown has matured into a one-day, high-level engagement that merges conversation with outcome.
“The platform will focus on unpacking thought leadership ideas to deliver solutions that overcome complex environmental challenges, through practical reforms,” he said.
Bassey thanked partners, including past and present Resident and Human Coordinator of the United Nations, Nigeria; Sterling One Foundation, IHS Towers, and stakeholders.
Mohamed Malick Fall, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, explained that the organisation’s support for Nigeria is aimed at tackling plastic pollution to boost sustainable environmental protection.
Fall said plastic waste accounted for 13 per cent of the total sum of waste generated in Nigeria, adding that, if properly harnessed, it could create mass employment in the plastic value chain.
He added that it could also trigger private sector-driven investments and foreign direct investment inflows while reducing plastic leakages into the environment.
Efegbidiki Okobia, president of NES, explained the organisation’s partnership with GreenHubAfrica and the UN Information Centre in promoting initiatives towards ending plastic pollution.
According to him, there is a gap between separation, collection and distribution of waste during disposal, and that this is where the challenge lies.
Henry Inegbu, Executive Director, Operations, Family Homes Funds Limited, explained technology-driven solutions to waste management in real estate, disclosing that his organisation was conducting training on how to use plastic waste to make bricks, roofing and other building materials for more affordable housing.
Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO of Sterling One Foundation, explained that Sterling Bank and her foundation have been collaborating for over a decade to tackle plastic pollution and waste management.
She noted that the 2030 target to reduce plastic pollution to levels not harmful to biodiversity and ecosystem functions will be a mirage without multi-sector collaboration. “In our various spheres, let us take charge,” she advised.
