Babacar Mbengue Builds Digital E-Waste Recycling Chain in Senegal

• Babacar Mbengue founded RKovera in January 2026 to digitize the collection, tracking and recycling of electronic waste in Senegal.
• RKovera’s Reviva platform tracks electronic equipment throughout its lifecycle, from entry into the country to collection and material recovery.
• The company extracts strategic metals including copper, gold, lithium and cobalt and plans to generate carbon credits from recycling activities that prevent uncontrolled waste burning.

Babacar Mbengue is a Senegalese software engineer and technology entrepreneur. He founded RKovera in January 2026 and serves as its chief executive. The technology company addresses the critical challenge of electronic waste management.

RKovera has placed Reviva at the center of its operations. The platform tracks the entire lifecycle of electronic equipment, from its entry into Senegal to its final recovery and recycling.

Reviva covers equipment including computers, mobile phones, servers, medical devices and batteries. The platform provides traceability throughout the process, from waste collection to material recovery.

For corporate customers, RKovera provides a turnkey service that collects obsolete IT equipment. The company also securely erases data and issues a processing certificate. The process gives organizations verifiable documentation that they can use to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility efforts.

RKovera also safely dismantles electronic devices to recover strategic metals including copper, gold, lithium and cobalt. The company then channels the recovered materials into specialized recycling streams.

In addition, RKovera plans to monetize carbon credits generated through its recycling activities. The company aims to prevent uncontrolled waste incineration and capture the environmental value associated with avoiding those emissions.

Mbengue also works on other environmental and social initiatives. He serves as head of operations at Ndati, an eco-responsible fashion brand that promotes local craftsmanship and actively supports female entrepreneurship in rural communities.

From Developer to Strategist: The Rise of an ESP Graduate

Mbengue earned a master’s degree in software engineering from Dakar’s École supérieure polytechnique (ESP) in 2022. However, he began his professional career in 2018.

He first worked as a mobile developer at inspection firm Alpages before taking on a similar role at NUMHERIT the following year.

In 2022, Mbengue joined GAMMA LINK, a Senegalese platform that connects carriers with shippers. He initially worked as a frontend developer before quickly moving into a product manager role.

From 2024, Mbengue broadened his operational and strategic experience through consulting assignments. He worked with Sunu Trip in the tourism sector and later advised Sassoumane, a company specializing in hygiene products.

Before launching his own company, Mbengue served as head of product and operations at edtech platform Yello until 2026.

Melchior Koba