Phebe Ilesanmi

Co-Founder & Chief Compliance Officer, Trashcoin

Nigeria

Phebe Ilesanmi is the co-founder and chief compliance officer at Trashcoin, a company dedicated to transforming Africa’s plastic waste crisis into economic opportunities for underserved communities through traceable, technology-driven recycling systems. Under her leadership, the platform has recovered 2.5M kilograms of plastic waste, created over 1,200 green jobs, and prevented over 14,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Phebe uses technology to incentivize low-resourced communities in Nigeria to recycle, and participants earn digital tokens in exchange for recycling items like plastic and scrap metal. More than 19,000 women and youth have used these digital tokens to access services such as health insurance, education, and electricity. She drives systemic behavioral shifts across the continent through inclusive, people-driven climate innovation.