Prior to founding MitiMeth, Achenyo Idacheba worked for ExxonMobil in the United States where she held a variety of Regional and Global Advisor positions. In 2009, she bid her corporate career good-bye and relocated to Nigeria to start a new chapter in her life as a Social Entrepreneur. She is a graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife where she obtained a B.Sc in Computer Science and Economics She also has an M.S. in Applied Computer Science from Illinois State University and worked as an IT Programmer Analyst for a few years before getting an M.B.A from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Idacheba joined the Strategic Hire Development Programme at Mobil Oil Corporation (later ExxonMobil) upon completion of her MBA programme and spent the next 11 years with the company. As an entrepreneur, her attention to detail and the fact that she was able to create a niche for herself in a field where there is little or no competition is a plus for her as she has won commendable laurels doing what she loves doing. Her company, Mitimeth is an award winning indigenous social enterprise producing hand-woven accessories from renewable natural fibers and non-timber forest resources found across Nigeria.
The Mitimeth story
I like to tell people that MitiMeth is a tangible expression of the message being “preached” on waste recovery and utilization. I saw the prevailing problems caused by the infestation of aquatic weeds in our environment and figured there had to be a low cost and high impact practical solution for the environment and the people whose livelihoods are negatively impacted by the presence of invasive aquatic weeds in their immediate environment. I spent several months working with the weeds to understand the characteristics and was finally able to develop a few aesthetic handicrafts. A year later, I was fortunate to participate in the premier business development training for “Women Entrepreneurs in Handicrafts” organized by WIMBIZ and Vital Voices in 2011 and that training was really a breakthrough moment for me. That’s essentially how it all began.
From stubborn aquatic weeds to exotic accessories
If you drive around Lagos, the invasive aquatic weeds are very visible in most water bodies. I remember on several occasions visiting Lagos, looking over the 3rd Mainland Bridge around Iyana Oworo and seeing numerous boats hemmed in by dense mats of water hyacinth. I thought of how frustrating the curtailed access must be for the communities who depend heavily on the waterways for their livelihoods. The sense of frustration led me to research the potential usage of the weeds and to develop a win-win solution for the community folks and the environment. If necessity is the mother of invention…….frustration has got to be the father of innovation! Today we have a diverse production offering which includes home and personal accessory products which can be seen (and of course purchased) on the MitiMeth website.
Capacity Building with Riverine communities or states
Yes, there are several other States we would like to partner with to build capacity. According to a national study conducted by the Nigerian Institute of Freshwater Fisheries Research (NIFFR), over 20 states in Nigeria have been infested by various aquatic weeds. We are very eager to partner with as many States as possible to build capacity in product development. In Bayelsa, we partnered with FACE initiative, an NGO that has done work in the area of gender advocacy and economic empowerment. We trained 40 women and have just scratched the surface in terms of capacity building in Bayelsa. We want to DO much more and would be happy to partner with Community Based Organizations, NGOs, private sector organizations and government agencies that share our vision. In Delta (Owahwa / Esaba) we partnered with WITS and TreasureLake (both NGOs) to build capacity amongst the youth. We have also partnered with a few riverine communities in Kogi and with LAWMA in Lagos to harvest the weeds from the waterways.
Current source aquatic weeds
As of now, most of our aquatic weeds are sourced from Kogi and Lagos
Any plan for more workshops
Our plan is to have production centres in other riverine communities in Nigeria. First and foremost, we have to build the capacity to produce well in these riverine communities. Once that happens the production centres would evolve.
You-Win experience
I applied and was fortunate to be one of the 1,200 YouWIN!Women applicants that made the final cut. It has also been affirming to know that the YouWIN programme believes in the potential of what we are doing at MitiMeth to create sustainable livelihoods in Nigeria. The award came at the right time because I needed to hire more staff in order to scale up MitiMeth. I currently have a team of 11 which is a big jump from MitiMeth’s pre-award status. Over the past few months since the award, the YouWIN Monitors have come around periodically to inspect the business to ensure the award was being used for its intended purpose. The YouWIN training workshops have been helpful and have also provided the opportunity to network and share best practices with other awardees. Overall it has been a good experience.
Plans for an exhibition of these unique products
Thanks for the kind compliments. Yes, we are planning to have an exhibition in collaboration with other SMEs in the creative arts & design industry. We are looking for sponsors for the event too! In the interim we plan to participate in exhibitions hosted by other organizations. Most recently (in April) we participated in the 2014 WimBIZ Marketplace.
Highlights of prestigious awards and recognition
I am humbled by the recognition and awards we have received at MitiMeth. All of these have encouraged us to keep on plugging away diligently at what we do. We are an indigenous company trying hard to create value from readily available resources perceived to have little value. The 2013 Local Raw Material Content Award nomination from the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) was a big ONE for us especially when you had the likes of Dangote Cement also receiving the 2013 award. This is a case of the little fish (MitiMeth) swimming with the BIG fish (Dangote) and carrying her own! I was nominated by WIMBIZ to participate in Standard Chartered Bank’s 2013 Dragon’s Den and Financial Seminar and MitiMeth emerged the 1st Place winner of that event. All I can say is that I am grateful for the recognition and we hope that when people hear MitiMeth, they immediately think “a business for social good”.
Does Mitimeth have a meaning?
Yes, it does. Around the time the idea of utilizing aquatic weeds for beneficial use came about, I was doing a bit of research on opportunity areas for mitigating methane emissions (a potent greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere. My aquatic weed of interest (water hyacinth) also happened to be rich in methane content due to its organic nature. MitiMeth was coined from the phrase Mitigating Methane.
Mabel Dimma
