Rajesh Shah

Raj has managed Tanpack Tissues Ltd for over 15 years. The company recycles locally sourced paper waste to produce hygiene products including tissues, serviettes, and hand towels under the Rexa and Velvex brands. During this time, he grew the plant’s capacity by 300%, doubled the number of people employed, introduced many new products, and established new markets in Kenya, Rwanda and Malawi.

Besides manufacturing, Raj also set up a Paper Waste export unit to export it to Asian markets. For these efforts, the company was awarded the President’s Manufacturer of the Year awards in 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2016. Today, the company supplies 70% of Tanzania’s recycled tissue and paper demand.

Raj is particularly proud that Tanpack prevents 8000 tons of paper waste from being sent to the landfill, and instead recycles it into products that are widely recognized and used across the country. Outside his role as a CEO, Raj is keen in raising community awareness on the environmental and socio-economic benefits of recycling. As part of these efforts, he had presented a paper “Income Generation through Recycling” at a workshop held by the Municipal Council.

He showed that how self employment opportunities are created in paper waste collection. Seeking to also educate the youth, he organizes visits for school children to see the process of recycling waste to high-value products. In addition, he is involved with initiatives to help the unemployed set up their own paper waste businesses.

Raj is a board member of the Tanzania Recyclers Association (TARA), a non-profit organization whose mission is to send “zero waste to landfill.” There, he hopes to implement other initiatives to increase recycling in Tanzania.