Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola

Bilikiss is the Founder of Wecyclers Nigeria Limited (Wecyclers), a for-profit social enterprise that promotes environmental sustainability, social welfare, and community health by utilizing low-cost cargo bicycles called “wecycles” to provide convenient recycling services to households in densely populated low-income neighborhoods. Wecyclers motivates families to recycle through an SMS-based incentive program that rewards them with points for consistent recycling that can be converted to cash.

Under her leadership, Wecyclers has established partnerships with Lagos State Government and the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and since 2012 has registered over 23,00 households and diverted over 8,000 metric tons of recyclable materials from landfills into productive reuse in Lagos, Nigeria.

Bilikiss earned an MBA at the Sloan of School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was a Legatum Fellow at MIT’s Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship and Vice President of the MIT Sloan Africa Business Club. Additionally, she holds an MSc. in Computer Science from Vanderbilt University, and a BSc. in Computer Science from Fisk University. She is a Carroll Wilson Fellow, an Echoing Green Fellow and a 2013 recipient of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. Bilikiss also published a patent during her time as a Software Engineer with IBM.

Bilikiss is also an active public speaker, reaching audiences in Nigeria and beyond at events such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit and Expo (YES) Nigeria 2016, Women in Business Conference 2016 and the World Economic Forum’s Davos Conference in 2021. She was recognized as one of the 2016 Quartz Africa Innovators, identified as one of Africa’s Top 5 Entrepreneurs in the Waste Recycling Business by Smallstarter, named as one of the 2016 Ventures Africa 42 African Innovators to Watch, and honored as one of 20 African Women with Powerful and Inspiring Voices by Applause Africa.

After serving as the General Manager of the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK), Bilikiss was appointed as the Director-General of the Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau (LASRAB) to ensure the maintenance of historic, modern and credible information that meet the needs and interest of the State.

Bilikiss was a pioneer member of the Board of Trustees of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), from 2016 to 2020. The LSETF was established by the Lagos State Government to provide financial support to residents of Lagos State to grow and scale their Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (“MSMEs”), for jobs, wealth creation and to tackle unemployment. LSETF serves as an instrument to inspire the creative and innovative energies of all Lagos residents and reduce unemployment across the State.