Chilean soluble bags innovator eyes Kenyan market
Chilean Solubag innovator plans to set up a production factory for raw materials and finished products in Athi River, Machakos county.
Co-founder and director for Solubag Africa, George Jomo says the firm wants to build upon the overwhelming reception it received at the United Nation (UN) meeting.
According to Jomo, Nairobi is a business hub that gives them a room to start strongly in Africa.
“We are going to start the production factory for raw materials and finished products in Athi River,” he said.
Its head office will be at the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Athi River, Machakos County, from where it will supply items to the rest of the continent.
He said the firm has already hired about 600 seamstresses to stitch and carry out commercial heat-sealing adding that they will be scaling up the number as demand picks.
Founded by Chilean scientists led by Roberto Astete, 46, the firm is taking South and North America and Europe market by storm.
“We have zero per cent plastic in our recipe. Our first customers were children because they got excited about this tough product that suddenly disappears in water,” says Astete.
Founded on a technology that first sought to produce a detergent, it is now being used to produce shopping bags, personal protective equipment, sugar bags, aprons, shampoo, hand soaps, tumblers and lab coats.
“This technology is an open book. There is no boundary yet as to how many more products we can make out of it. We can even replace the single-use plastic cups used in parties with dissolvable cups,” says Astete.
In Chile, Astete says the firm is working on toothbrushes, crates, food containers and disposable dishes.
Astete was in Nairobi recently, for the first time during the fifth UN Environment Assembly that concluded on March 2 with 14 resolutions to curb pollution, protect and restore nature worldwide being passed.
Astete awed delegates with this invention that in 2018 saw Solubag recognised by Singularity University and Silicon Valley as the best innovation in Latin America.
The soluble bags are yet to hit the streets in Kenya but will be priced just as plastics or synthetic bags to ensure affordability.
Solubag’s technology is made of the same material used for manufacturing capsule shells for medical drugs. One of the ingredients is maize cobs while the rest of the recipe has been patented.
Astete’s fellow scientist Cristian Olivares, discovered the formula while experimenting with biodegradable detergent.
They used polyvinyl alcohol that dissolves in water as their chemical base and then replaced the oil derivatives to ensure the bag would degrade over time.
The soluble bags, which physically look like plastic bags and can stretch out just like a paper bag when pulled, come in different designs — film bags, flat bags, long gusset bags, medium gusset bags and punched bags.
“If you don’t want to destroy it instantly with water, you can still throw it away and it will be destroyed by rain, moisture or sun unlike plastics that take 150 years,” said Astete.
Solubag has now created Solubag Africa — the unit that will sell its products across the continent. Its offices are going to be in Kenya.
Solubag plans to set up distribution points in other countries but production will be done in Kenya to ensure quality is not compromised.
The technology’s first client in Kenya was the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which used the bags to plant 300 trees to mark the United Nation’s 50 years in the country.
Corporates keen on sustainability agenda such as Safaricom and KCB have already made orders, with the telco requiring about 1.3 million bags a month for its activities.
