Mrs. Jumaima Ella, Head of Secretariat, Rural Women Energy Security Initiative [RUWES] Nigeria, represented RUWES at the Nigeria Circular Economy Week 2026 held from 16th to 19th February 2026 in Abuja.
As an Uptake Partner for FREEE Recycle, Mrs. Ella attended the workshop titled “Kick Starting Nigeria’s First Aerosol Can Recycling Initiative” on 17th and 18th February 2026. During the workshop she presented on 17th February and met with key stakeholders including Ms. Ifedolapo Runsewe, CEO of FREEE Recycle Ltd., Mike MacKay, Managing Director of DESPRAY Environmental, and Freek Van Eijk, CEO of Holland Circular Hotspot.
Discussions focused on RUWES’ inclusion in the collection value chain for waste aerosol cans and RUWES’ role as distributor of recovered LPG gas from aerosol cans through its partnership with FREEE Recycle. RUWES proposed a model that integrates rural women into the aerosol can collection value chain by establishing women-led collection hubs, training women as aggregation agents, providing safety training, and creating incentive-based, micro-franchise systems that link waste recovery to clean energy distribution.
In the networking session, CASA MicroFinance Bank Lagos, GreenHub Africa, and the Association of Women in Trade and Agriculture [AWITA] indicated interest to collaborate with RUWES. RUWES is leveraging its over two million women membership base to ensure rural women are central to Nigeria’s circular economy and clean energy transition.
