The Problem
Used Cooking Oil is a valuable resource for producing biofuel, a cleaner fuel that can reduce GHG emissions by 50-90%. Egypt produces an estimated 500,000 tons of UCO annually, but only a fraction is collected and recycled. Globally, demand for UCO is expected to exceed supply due to EU-legislation requiring biofuel producers to use more UCO. This creates a huge opportunity for exporting UCO and biodiesel and has the potential to lead to the creation of up to 100,000 jobs in Egypt.
Due to limited collection and transportation infrastructures, limited awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of recycling UCO, and difficulties in transportation and storage, this sector remains significantly untapped. To date, Tagaddod has managed to tap into only 3% of the market. More funding is needed not only to unlock this sector further, but also to create jobs for youth and women.
The specific target on young women links to the issue that Egyptian women are much more likely to be unemployed than men. A large reason for this is the persistence of traditional gender roles in Egyptian society. Therefore, Tagaddod wants to focus most of their efforts in providing women opportunities for work and financial empowerment.
The Solution
To increase volumes of UCO collected and recycled, and thus positively impacting job creation, Tagaddod intends to:
- Increase the number of collection points to include Red Sea and Upper Egypt.;
- Launch social media campaigns and awareness billboards;
- Strengthen on-ground presence; run app download campaigns, and train collectors.
In addition, Tagaddod will put in place specific measures to empower young and female workers, including:
- Providing comprehensive training opportunities for young people.
- Actively targeting women through initiatives such as the ‘Women Ambassadors Program’, safety protocols for female collectors, and gender-responsive recruitment policies at Tagaddod HQ.
Through this project, Tagaddod aims to create over 3,050 jobs of which over 80% will target women. They will also improve 300 existing jobs and contribute to UCO export and market growth by increasing collection and recycling from 3% to 10%.
Additionality
With CFYE’s support, Tagaddod will be able to address both environmental and employment challenges. By scaling up collection and recycling, Tagaddog will unlock this sector further, reduce pollution and create direct jobs for youth, and in particular young women. CFYE funding will also help them creating, matching and improving jobs for young men and women, by providing comprehensive training and education to its employees, thus fostering their career growth and stability.