Jessen Jay Siamutwa has begun creating a toner recycling plant in Zambia, which is aimed at conserving the environment and reducing printing costs for many institutions within the SADC region. 

The twenty-seven-year-old is an eco-activist and was awarded by the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) in 2017. He is a qualified business economist who has spent over two years in the professional industry. 

The Africapitalist is also part of the 2018 Top 100 Zambian award winners in the Start-up Istanbul Turkey, a programme aimed at showcasing youthful business ideas and investment opportunities in the SADC region. 

Later this year in Istanbul, Siamutwa will be showcasing not only his business idea but also striving to unlock business opportunities that Zambia and Africa as a whole have in store.

Currently, he is the managing director at King Cartridge World, a three-phase-plan IT business company for which he won the awards.

Aside from this, it is hoped that the project will become a prominent source of employment for many young people in the country and region, with a net annual tax return of not less than $80,000.

The desire to keep learning, drive, respect, passion and brand building has contributed to his success. Siamutwa had to abandon his career in economics to be able to follow his entrepreneurial career. 

Financial issues and building his team were other experiences that gave him many lessons on the success journey. 

His vision in five years from now is to be SADC’s leading provider of environmentally friendly, high quality and less costly printer consumables while preserving and sustaining the environment by recycling already used toner and inkjet cartridges. He desires to see his company creating not less than 100 jobs in his country to supplement government efforts in closing the unemployment gap.

What excites him about what he is doing is the fact that he is providing the best alternative solution to societal challenges.
 
His advice to young people is for Africa to reap the dividends she has longed for; it is up to the young generation to make sure that the influence is channelled correctly and directed towards relevant issues that affect not only themselves but for generations after them. 

He believes that the young people are the future and it must be communicated that the world owes them nothing, but they owe themselves the future they desire.

Looking ahead he sees himself sees himself as a good African employer and mentor to African start-ups. This is his goal, to showcase the potential of the continent in the creation of employment and providing lasting solutions to societal challenges.