VeryNile was created in 2018 as an initiative that breaks boundaries through its wide range of ideas, strong commitment to action, and ability to bring together multi-sectoral volunteers and partners. The Nile is a symbol of Egyptian heritage and a source of life for Egypt. However, according to the World Economic Forum, it is also one of 10 rivers that contribute 90% of the garbage in the world’s oceans. By cleaning the Nile, raising awareness about the importance of reducing plastic consumption, and empowering local communities, VeryNile ensures that its impact is not just clear on a local and regional level, but on a global one as well.

VeryNile is supported by the Ministry of Environment.

VeryNile is implemented by the Egyptian social enterprise Bassita. Bassita promotes and implements positive initiatives through building multi sectorial partnerships. Bassita is the innovator of the multi-award winning Clickfunding model​​​​​​​

VeryNile is the first initiative to d evelop sustainable means to clean the Nile while raising awareness on the importance of protecting our environment. VeryNile interlaces social and environmental impact and develops eco-friendly solutions to remove inorganic waste from the river.

VeryNile is supported by: Drosos Foundation, One Earth One Ocean and the Ministry of Environment.

Launched in September 2020, this project socially and economically empowers local fishermen to clean the Nile on a daily basis. Every day, this new green army removes an average of 100kg of plastic waste from the Nile - almost 40 tons per year!

Fisherwomen and fishermen already work (and many even live on their boats) on the Nile. They possess small boats that can reach any location on the Nile, they know the Nile better than anyone. Most importantly, they know preserving the Nile will bring back biodiversity, a higher availability of fish. For thousands of years, people have been fishing on the Nile. VeryNile aims to preserve this unique cultural heritage by ensuring a sustainable approach to fishing while preserving tradition through innovation.

VeryNile tries to recycle all plastic collected from the Nile in order to extend its environmental impact as well as empower consumers to contribute to our activities. The importance of this project goes beyond the creation of a social innovative model, most importantly it is setting an important stone towards a new and sustainable circular economy which will both benefit the environment and underprivileged communities. The vision is innovative at it sees (for the first time) the Nile as a new market for the collection of recyclables – creating a new incentive for various entities, our partners or otherwise, to clean the Nile and recycle solid waste. To recycle as much plastic as possible, VeryNile also offers collection services for companies that want to ensure their discarded single-use plastic has a second lifespan.

VeryNile has so far collected more than five tons of PET plastic bottles from the Nile. To make this project sustainable and to replicate and scale it elsewhere, collected recyclables are sold to recycling agencies. VeryNile is currently in the process of developing collaborations with various sectors to begin integrating Nile recyclables into new upcycled and recycled products. VeryNile is currently collaborating with the furniture brand Drowzy to create a new line of products which integrate Nile recyclables in the manufacturing process. Moreover, as part of its collaboration with Mashrou’ El Saada, five women from Qursaya island are receiving training on how to create reusable eco-friendly bags by upcycling plastic bags.

VeryNile truly believes that no matter how much we clean, we cannot achieve real, sustainable change without creating behavioural change and raising public awareness. Thus, VeryNile undergoes a number of awareness raising activities and has launched 

various campaigns to challenge unhealthy approaches towards the environment.

Banning single use plastic bags in Zamalek

It takes at least 500 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade in a landfill, if at all (Center for Biological Diversity)

Plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds globally and more than 100,000 marine mammals annually (UNESCO)

Around 8 million tons of plastic waste is disposed of in the world’s oceans every year.

(UN Environment Assembly)

Most plastic is not biodegradable, it disintegrates into microplastics that last forever.

Not all plastic bags can be recycled.

Plastic bags end up blown, dumped or carried into the Mediterranean Sea.

Tourism, maritime trade, and fisheries are directly and adversely impacted by plastic pollution.

Plastic bags contribute to visual pollution.

As one of the most populated islands in Cairo, a large number of Zamalek’s plastic bags end up in the Nile, contributing to visual pollution and threats to marine life and ecosystems. Studies by UNESCO found that plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds globally and more than 100,000 marine mammals annually. Moreover, the UN Environment Assembly found that around 8 million tons of plastic waste is disposed of in the world’s oceans every year. Single-use plastic bags (SUPBs) make up a large amount of this disposed garbage, and according to the Centre for Biological Diversity, it takes at least 500 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade in a landfill.

VeryNile launched its first ‘Banning SUPBs from Zamalek’ campaign in February 2020, which was hosted by our partners Hilton Hotel Zamalek Residences. The launch was attended by Her Excellency Dr. Yasmine Fouad, the Minister of Environment, and other high-profile guests such as the Ambassador of France, all of whom expressed support for the ban. Her Excellency Dr. Yasmine Fouad has been supportive of this initiative since the beginning – media coverage of this support has ignited an important debate about SUPBs in many media and television outlets.

As part of our ongoing collaboration with Attijariwafa Bank, VeryNile produced 3,000 cotton bags to be distributed and used as an alternative to plastic bags. The bags were made with Upfuse, who made the base out of recycled plastic bags in order to maximise practicality.

VeryNile believes in diversifying projects to reach different audiences. We also believe in the power of creative content. In 2020, VeryNile partnered with Zawya Cinema to create a short awareness video raising awareness about the dangers of single-use plastic bags on the environment, specifically marine life. The aim was to connect viewers with the cause and to show that all sectors, even the cinema industry, can play a role in educating their consumers. The result was ‘Zouzou’ – a short animated story of a fish whose habitat is slowly destroyed by single-use plastics, and eventually its health too. Thanks to our partners at Zawya, ‘Zouzou’ was seen by hundreds of viewers, as well as thousands of times online.

VeryNile created a creative photoseries showcasing VeryNile’s ‘Reviving Cairo Fishermen’ project in which Cairo fishermen have created a green army of Nile cleaners. The photoseries went viral, reaching more than two million Facebook users and engaging thousands in the conversation about our responsibility towards the environment.

VeryNile aims to maximise its social impact on the island of Qursaya in order empower the local community (fishermen partners and their families). We do this through a number of activities that we are constantly expanding and developming.

VeryNile’s activities on Qursaya island are about transforming neighborhoods, communities, and lives. VeryNile implements projects in collaboration with the Qursaya community to involve residents of all genders and ages in its environmental and social activities. VeryNile collaborated with Mashrou’ El Saada under a partnership with Etisalat to host two painting events in which community members were invited to take part in painting a house on the island and the VeryNile Fishermen Hub. Participants enjoyed a fun day in the sun transforming old and plain buildings into colorful, joyous designs that light up the area and grab the attention of visitors. VeryNile also hosted a short art workshop for children on the island with a local artist, as well as a full-day event by Mashrou’ El Saada in which participants painted the boats of the local fishermen with fun designs.