Rising Tide Africa has committed up to $1 million to Nigerian waste-management company Ororo Waste Management to expand the collection of used cooking oil across the country, backing a business model that turns an overlooked waste stream into a source of income and renewable-energy feedstock.
The investment, worth about ₦1.4 billion, is structured through a corporate note. Ororo Waste received the first tranche on September 16, 2026, with additional funding potentially released through December 16. The capital will support collection infrastructure, purchases of used cooking oil and working capital as the company expands its operations.
Ororo currently operates collection hubs in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. With the new funding, the company plans to expand to more than 40 hubs nationwide over the next five years. It also aims to increase its formally paid collector network from about 5,000 people today to more than 200,000 by 2031.
The opportunity is significant because Nigeria generates an estimated 840,000 metric tonnes of used cooking oil each year, according to Ororo, while more than 95% is currently uncaptured. Instead of entering drains and waterways or being improperly reused, the company is building a supply chain that collects the oil and channels it into markets for waste-based fuel feedstocks.
Used cooking oil can serve as a feedstock for products including biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel. This has created an emerging commercial opportunity around waste collection, particularly as international markets seek traceable, certified materials for renewable fuels.
Ororo says its collection platform uses GPS and QR codes to track transactions from collectors through to export containers, while payments are made through mobile money. The company also holds International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), a requirement that helps suppliers demonstrate the origin and sustainability characteristics of materials sold into international markets.
The funding also carries a strong inclusion component. Rising Tide Africa, a women-led pan-African angel investment network, said the investment is intended to strengthen the economic participation of market women, waste pickers and young people already involved in the collection value chain.
That focus follows a training programme Ororo conducted in July with the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Shell Foundation and the Waste Pickers Association of Nigeria. About 250 market women, waste pickers and youths were trained in the safe collection, handling and storage of used cooking oil, as well as quality control and traceability.
For Ororo, scaling the business will require more than collectors. The company expects the new capital to finance practical infrastructure such as drums, trucks, storage hubs and the working capital needed to pay suppliers promptly.
The investment comes as Nigeria looks for ways to build circular-economy businesses around waste while creating new income opportunities. Lagos has already partnered with Ororo on household used-cooking-oil collection, highlighting the potential for waste management, environmental protection and economic activity to intersect.
With Rising Tide Africa’s backing, Ororo is now seeking to turn that opportunity into a nationwide collection network—and make used cooking oil a more formal part of Nigeria’s emerging renewable-energy supply chain.
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