Kelvin Steve and the story of founding Replast Engineering began in Lagos, Nigeria, where he experienced firsthand how unreliable electricity derailed his mother’s small restaurant. Forced to rely on diesel due to daily power outages, the business quickly ate into its profits, and within Steve’s first year of college, his mother’s business fell through.
“I had to start fending for myself from my second year to my fifth year when I graduated with a bachelor’s in engineering,” Steve said. “I’ve firsthand seen the struggles, the pain, the disadvantages, and the inequalities of this world. I really wanted to create a solution that supports these people at the lower end of the ladder. It goes beyond profits.”
After graduating from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, he began searching for social solutions that could benefit his community. He started Replast Engineering as a plastic-for-cash project, converting plastic waste to raw materials for manufacturing. However, after reflecting further on the challenges of his mother’s business, he transitioned Replast into a clean-tech startup providing solar installation and financing for women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)s.
“I got into social entrepreneurship as a quest…I really wanted to provide sure that my solution impacts the life of others, especially women who are like my mom,” Steve said. “I drew that as my motivation to really tailor my solution towards providing clean, renewable energy solutions for women-led SMEs.”
With his mother as his founding source of inspiration, Steve spent the next few years building and expanding Replast Engineering. In the process, he noted three major challenges: the high cost of renewable energy, building a team with shared values, and the rising inflation in Nigeria.
To combat these issues, Steve looked for finance partners who could provide credit to enable small businesses to adopt renewable energy as a primary source of power.
As for his team, he followed his developed philosophy: people before profit. When certain team members showed values that misaligned with positively impacting humanity, he made the tough decisions to let them go.
Most pressing of them all, rising inflation: due to inflated costs, the accumulated loans and interests involved in installing renewable energy sources could end up insufficient in comparison to the amount of renewable energy power.
“It’s really discouraging. We [have] around-the-clock feedback with our clients and our customers. That’s the only way we can cope with it,” Steve said. “Inflation is really bad and it’s really eating us up. But we are surviving. We’ve been surviving for almost two years now and our customers are very satisfied.”
Regardless of the challenges, his morale remains high as he witnesses the positive effects of his dedication. He described one memorable experience seeing Replast’s impact on a woman’s grocery store. With renewable energy and reliable lighting, her business was able to stay open three hours longer and attract more customers.
“Seeing that people’s lives are changing through our solutions from the testimonials we hear is what really motivates us,” Steve said. “Sometimes the profit margins are not really enough, but the fact that we are positively impacting lives through our solution really makes me excited and happy.”
At his core is a drive; a want to succeed and improve humanity. Not only that, his commitment is deeply personal, rooted in his own experiences growing up and the profound encouragement from his family.
“My family [is] always making me feel at home, providing me with the emotional support and the motivation that really kept me going,” Steve said. “Having my family close, even in difficult times, kept me motivated and focused.”
Since their start, Replast Engineering has provided services to close to 300 women-led SMEs across Nigeria. Despite his accomplishments and successes, Steve expressed humility and desire to expand solutions of renewable energy to the world.
“It’s been a rigorous journey. We’re not there yet, but we are making progress. We have a very small team and we are very proud of what we are doing,” Steve said. “We see a future that we are a part of, where not just women-led businesses, but all businesses are able to switch to green energy through our innovative model.”
By prioritizing the needs of people and emphasizing the importance of shared values, Kelvin Steve and his team at Replast Engineering are charting a path towards empowerment of struggling SMEs through sustainable energy solutions.
