The EcoConnect Initiative logo

The EcoConnect Initiative

Empowering communities for a greener future
Youth-led, data-driven, community powered

Empowering underserved communities
to act on environmental risks.

EcoConnect is a youth-led initiative that combines technology, education, and community action to transform how climate-vulnerable communities understand, report, and respond to pollution and environmental risks.

6,000+ Residents in Ketu living with unmanaged waste
1,000 Target EcoConnect members in year one
10+ Youth Eco‑Ambassadors trained per community
Become an Eco Ambassador 🌱 Explore our projects

About the initiative

What is EcoConnect?

A youth-led platform that turns environmental data into practical action through education, real-time reporting, and grassroots mobilization.

EcoConnect combines technology, environmental education, and community action to drive grassroots change. Through our mobile app, residents access real-time data, practical learning materials, and local environmental reports.

Youth Eco‑Ambassadors bridge the gap between digital tools and lived realities. They teach households, facilitate cleanups, and support neighbours to use the app for reporting issues, learning, and tracking progress.

A data dashboard visualises trends and pollution hotspots, while AI helps generate predictive alerts. By translating complex data into accessible knowledge, EcoConnect empowers communities to protect their environment, make informed decisions, and act sustainably.

Real‑time environmental reporting Youth‑led education & mobilisation Community‑level data for policy

Why EcoConnect exists

In underserved communities, pollution and waste mismanagement are everyday realities. Residents face overflowing drains, open dumping, and burning of waste – yet lack accessible information, tools, and data to respond.

Occasional cleanups and distant policies rarely lead to lasting behaviour change. EcoConnect offers a different approach: co‑creating solutions with the community, building local capacity, and ensuring that data and decisions are shaped by those most affected.

Our why

From lived experience to shared solutions

EcoConnect is rooted in the founder's lived experience of growing up where pollution was normalised and environmental education was absent.

Problem

Pollution without power, risk without data

In communities like Ketu, unmanaged waste, blocked drainage, and air pollution expose residents – especially youth, informal workers, and those in informal settlements – to serious health and climate risks. Existing interventions are often top‑down, one‑off, and disconnected from daily realities, leaving people uninformed and disengaged from long‑term action.

Personal motivation

“I'm not just solving a problem – I've lived it.”

Growing up where pollution was normal and environmental education was missing, Mofiyinfoluwa Odeyemi has led cleanups, educated peers, and co‑designed grassroots campaigns. EcoConnect is an extension of this journey – a way to make climate education, reporting, and action accessible for communities that have historically been left out of environmental decision‑making.

What makes us different

Tech + youth leadership + community data

EcoConnect goes beyond awareness campaigns. We combine localized, gamified education, practical action guides, reporting, recycling access, and youth‑led mobilisation in one integrated platform. Eco Ambassadors from within the community build trust and adoption, while real‑time data on pollution hotspots helps policymakers act on evidence, not assumptions.

Who we serve

Communities at the frontlines of environmental risk

EcoConnect begins in Ketu, Lagos – a climate‑vulnerable community generating 5–6 tons of unmanaged waste daily – with a vision to scale to similar communities.

  • 🏠

    Households & informal workers

    Residents, market traders, and small business owners most exposed to pollution gain access to clear, practical tools for reporting issues, learning safer practices, and tracking how their actions add up.

  • 🧒

    Youth as changemakers

    Young people (18–30) are trained as Eco Ambassadors – local educators, mobilisers, and digital liaisons. They gain leadership and green skills while driving school clubs, cleanups, and neighbourhood campaigns.

  • 👩‍👧

    Women & marginalised groups

    Women, caregivers, and groups often excluded from environmental decision‑making are prioritised in trainings, feedback loops, and leadership roles, ensuring that solutions are truly inclusive.

  • 🏛️

    Local governments & policymakers

    Reliable, community‑level environmental data generated through the app supports better policies, targeting of resources, and transparent collaboration between residents and authorities.

The EcoConnect platform

From reports to risk alerts – all in one eco‑system

A mobile app for residents, a web dashboard for partners, and Eco Ambassadors connecting it all on the ground.

Designed with communities, the EcoConnect app makes environmental action simple, multilingual, and rewarding. Residents can learn, play, report issues and follow up on progress – all from their phones.

  • Education hub: bite‑sized lessons and action tips on waste, air quality, water, and climate resilience.
  • Reporting & surveys: residents log pollution hotspots, blocked drains, and illegal dumping with photos and simple categories.
  • Games & challenges: gamified quizzes and community challenges that reward learning and participation.
  • Community forum: conversations, feedback, and collaboration between residents, Eco Ambassadors and partners.
  • AI‑assisted alerts: patterns in reports trigger risk alerts and recommendations for local authorities and community leaders.
Mobile first Low‑bandwidth friendly Built for Lagos, adaptable beyond

Our projects

Cleanups, conversations, and community data

EcoConnect pilots combine hands‑on cleanups, market sensitisation, and data collection to demonstrate what is possible when communities co‑lead environmental action.

Market clean‑up & waste sensitisation – Ketu

From crowded market to cleaner shared space

In Ketu market, EcoConnect mobilised traders, shoppers, and youth volunteers for a hands‑on cleanup. Through practical demonstrations and stall‑to‑stall conversations, we highlighted the health and economic costs of unmanaged waste – and how everyday actions can shift the story.

Market clean‑up & waste sensitisation – Ikeja underbridge

Reclaiming public spaces from waste

Under the busy Ikeja bridge, informal workers and commuters navigate piles of waste daily. EcoConnect is partnering with youth groups and traders to co‑design a cleanup and sensitisation drive that pairs action with ongoing reporting through the app.

Our team

Led by young Africans re‑imagining environmental action

The EcoConnect Initiative is driven by a multidisciplinary team that blends environmental safety, public health, data, and community organising.

Portrait of Mofiyinfoluwa Odeyemi
Project Lead
Mofiyinfoluwa Odeyemi (She/Her)

An Environmental, Health & Safety officer with experience in grassroots campaigns and community partnerships. Mofiyinfoluwa leads strategy, partnerships, and funding coordination, ensuring that EcoConnect remains community‑driven, accountable, and impact‑focused.

Portrait of Oluwatunmise Victory
Head of Program
Oluwatunmise Victory (She/Her)

A Public Health professional and CIPM‑certified practitioner focused on programme delivery and community outreach. She coordinates the Eco Ambassador network, designs participatory workshops, and drives volunteer engagement for sustained adoption of the app.

Portrait of Judah Moyin‑Jesu
Monitoring & Evaluation Lead
Judah Moyin‑Jesu (He/Him)

A GIS graduate with 3+ years of experience in programme evaluation, data analysis, and geospatial mapping. Judah oversees impact tracking through app analytics, surveys, and ambassador reporting, ensuring measurable and transparent results.

Coming soon – The Eco Blog

“The environment shapes every breath, every bite, every step.”

🌿 Did you know? The environment affects every part of our lives – from the air we breathe to the food we eat. Through the Eco Blog, you will discover stories, tips, and tools to live more sustainably, wherever you are.

We will spotlight youth voices, community innovations, and small actions that lead to big shifts. Subscribe to be notified when we launch.

What to expect:

  • Short explainers on waste, air quality, flooding, and climate adaptation.
  • Practical guides for households, youth groups, and markets.
  • Impact stories from Eco Ambassadors and partner communities.

Join us

Volunteer, partner, or support the movement

EcoConnect grows through collaboration. Whether you are a youth leader, NGO, school, business, or public agency, there is a place for you in this story.

Volunteer

Become an Eco Ambassador

Join our youth network to lead cleanups, host learning circles, and support neighbours in using the EcoConnect app.

Partner

Collaborate on programmes

NGOs, schools, youth groups, and local agencies can partner with us on pilots, data sharing, and advocacy.

Support

Donate or sponsor

Support Ambassador trainings, devices, and community projects so more neighbourhoods can access EcoConnect.

Looking to co‑design a pilot in your community, school, or market? Reach out and let's explore what is possible together.