Is the future of African prosperity circular?

July 28, 2020 Emanuele Di Francesco

The African continent is at a crossroads.

As one of the fastest urbanising regions in the world, and with an expected population of over 4 billion by 2100, African countries urgently necessitate a socio-economic model of development able to provide increased standards of living for all African people and sustain them in light of the pressing environmental crisis. Without such a model at scale, the prosperity of African communities, cities and societies is at risk.

The quest for what this development model should be is a central topic of discussion in African and international environments alike. Many schools of thought, economic interests, social pressures, community initiatives and country differences influence the direction of the debate, pointing to different paths to walk on. How can long-lasting prosperity be achieved in Africa - by following the industrialised path of so-called ‘developed economies’ or by shaping a self-determined, inclusive and regenerative trajectory?

To contribute to the debate—in this Expert Series—we ask an ecosystem of entrepreneurs, researchers and activists engaged with the circular economy in Africa to share their perspectives on one overarching question:

How can the circular economy contribute to shape an inclusive, prosperous and regenerative development path for the African continent?

Considering anything from a sustainability perspective in Nigeria--and Africa more broadly--placing meaningful and sustainable employment and development opportunities sits front and center on the agenda. Considering Nigeria specifically, Covid-19 has exacerbated a gloomy outlook, where the country is dependent upon imports and revenues from oil exports are volatile. This is coupled with an environment where basic infrastructure needs such as energy, sanitation, health and education are not developed, so citizens and governments do not have much of a toolbox to work with when it comes to addressing the most urgent global issues of our time. The beauty of the circular economy approach is that economic development and coordination are central to its thesis. By asking how sustainability problems such as plastic waste can be reframed as innovation and coordination problems, we open up the discussion to think long and hard about ways of connecting indigenous business and talent to growth and development opportunities, and we can do something about it.

Natalie Beinisch - Co-founder Circular Economy Innovation Partnership (Nigeria)

The Circular Economy as it is called now has existed in Africa for decades. Known by different names depending on the geographical location in Africa, which is vast and where no one place is an exact replica of the next. For example, plastic containers & plastic bags did not exist traditionally. We did not have a plastic industry, nor the know-how or technology for it. We stored water in guards which we had harvested the inside for food. We used calabashes, hides to carry food as we traveled long distances. We stored our food sustainably without the need for electric refrigerators, our homes were built sustainably and the architecture and building style suited the weather. We need to look deeper into how “Africa” traditionally managed perceived waste and the standards they used then and bring them into today’s policies around circularity globally.

Ciiru Waweru Waithaka, CEO Funkidz, Nairobi (Kenya)

At the continental level, only Africa has three fundamental advantages which are--in my opinion--unavoidable in a circular economy: deeply collaborative societies, low-tech hubs and the world's smallest ecological footprint. From a collaborative aspect, they know what resource scarcity and survival mean. Friends and family circles are strong, people help each other when needed as, for instance, is the case with Umuganda every last Saturday of the month in Rwanda. Their social structure is very resilient because it was built "from within" like natural systems rules. The second fundamental aspect is that Africa firmly believes in low-tech - in addition to high-tech, of course. Low-tech is much more aligned with circular principles than high-tech, that is to say doing more with less, relying on locally distributive energies, and designed on purpose (there is no excess of unnecessary product functionalities). Being exposed to the low-tech culture is an important advantage for countries wishing to rely on national stocks of resources and available energy. Finally, the small footprint of Africa: designing a circular model without the constraint of lowering its ecological footprint from 3 planets down to below one is clearly an asset. It will mainly be about meeting people's needs without going too far out of the acceptable environmental ceilings. What were considered burdens in a linear economy are becoming strong advantages in a circular model. Now Africa lacks leadership, the hope lies in the younger generations to show it. Today, countries like Rwanda, Nigeria and South Africa have started to define what the circular economy means to them. They were quickly joined by other countries: Senegal, Niger, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Malawi, DRC to name a few. It is a clear sign that an African circular model, presumably inclusive, is rapidly emerging. The right approach in my view.

Alexandre Lemille, Co-Founder African Circular Economy Network

Kenya’s growing urban middle-class has embraced capitalism, as demonstrated by the economic growth and rising consumerism of recent years. This is in sharp contrast to the frugal ways of past generations – frugality that nevertheless continues to prevail among peri-urban and rural populations. To stave off rising consumerism, opportunities abound whereby Kenya – whose industrial production and manufacturing are at a fledgling stage – can leapfrog the industrialization and technological lock-in that characterise the linear economy. Rather than focusing solely on industrialization, policy makers and development actors could prioritize the promotion of circular production processes that conserve natural resources and eliminate waste, particularly in key economic sectors such as agriculture, energy and construction. Much in the same way that smallholder farmers have done in past generations, commercial food, livestock and cash crop producers could be required to adopt regenerative agricultural practices in order to conserve water, arable land and endemic biodiversity. Similarly, in light of the role that deforestation plays in increasing drought, soil erosion and biodiversity loss, clean alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and biogas could be promoted as substitutes to energy from firewood, charcoal and paraffin in low-income households. Furthermore, public infrastructure and urban developers could be required to give preference to sustainability criteria during the procurement of construction material such as cement, wood and river sand. The promotion of circular production processes within key economic sectors in this manner would contribute to the achievement of the social gains that characterise truly sustainable development.

Wacuka Maina, Strategist Arborescence (Kenya)

The Circular Economy--new concept for Europe and beyond--already exists in Africa, be it largely built on the informal sector. This creates environmental and health risks, and human dignity is at stake. The challenges are increasingly visible to the world community thanks to the social media. The way forward is supporting the African people by setting standards, building capacity and boosting investments in responsible, sustainable recycling. Fair prices and solid regulations and monitoring are structural components of strategies strengthening and mainstreaming the Circular Economy in Africa. Our next World Resources Forum, to be held in Ghana in 2021, will be the place where these issues will be discussed with African and international partners, including the European Commission, the Swiss government, UNEP, UNICEF, Ellen MacArthur Foundation and GiZ.

Bas de Leeuw, Managing Director World Resources Forum

In a West African province, Ivorian agripreneurs of the 18 Mountains are rekindling ancestral concepts by incorporating circular principles, such as the revaluation and regeneration of wastes from different productions, enabled by a crop-livestock synergy. Climate-smart agricultural innovations, such as a mill and a Biochar Pyrolysis system, process the wastes (respectively crop surpluses and animal excrements) into valuable agricultural inputs (animal feed and bio-compost). Moreover, agrobiodiversity is secured by the use of peasant seeds, coupled by agro-ecological practices, among which the use of natural fertilizers for integrated pest management. The first regional AgriLab, upgraded from an ancient UN military base in Danané, is a strong symbol, which aims at sharing and transmitting technological, financial and economic know-how to rural youth and women farmers to diversify their livelihoods and income: workshops and prototyping organized by pan-african coaches, in collaboration with international consultants, are becoming mainstream. We can also notify the importance of fair wages in the smooth operation of the solidary and inclusive market-network, in which agripreneurs wear the double-hat of producers and consumers. Thus, short distribution channels and a better management of local resources to promote African terroir are now basic parameters in an agripreneurial business plan. The scalability of circular models in the African agricultural field is a promising sustainable transition to ensure food security and economic opportunities to millions of smallholder farmers, while reinvigorating rural dynamics.

Omara RÉ, Business Developer at Grainotheque, Ivorian Social Business

When you look at poor communities, recycling is a way of life. As there is no ‘luxury’ of being able to throw away things, they re-use, repurpose and recycle things. There is also an economic incentive for what we often call ‘waste-pickers’, who go through everybody’s else trash, find something of value and make a meagre living out of it. In some ways, the circular economy is still intuitively a natural solution in some parts of Africa. However, you also see terrible waste, littering and pollution. What is absolutely essential for Africa is that we start to place a value on that waste, because we see that already a small value placed on waste can change behaviour and create economic livelihoods. What you see in many parts of Africa is almost a natural entrepreneurship, because in the past it has led to survival: to survive you have to be creative. If all those entrepreneurs could be re-oriented towards a circular economy model, then they could be rewarded for that and the upside would be very strong.

Wayne Visser, Professor of Integrated Value at Antwerp Management School

Africa, with more than half of its population below the age of twenty-four, is considered as a young continent. Even though this is a huge untapped resource for innovation, skilled workforce, market niche and economic prosperity, it comes with its own challenge. Redesigning systems which can lead to a globally competitive economy and, at the same time, create dignified employment opportunities; alleviate poverty; build technical, financial and institutional capacities; ensure utilization of ecosystem services and the continent's natural capital are regenerative, is mandatory. It requires reconceptualizing and transforming the current development frameworks, which are mostly public sector led and aid-dependent into economic models, which can harness partnerships with the private sector and development partners to create alternative pathways. The comparative advantage of such partnerships is mutual, resulting in identifying and formulating solutions together, by tapping into the best of the two worlds. I strongly believe the Circular Economy model can bring such a sustainable alternative development approach to the table, where Africa can be part of the deliberations and designing for global solutions to address global development challenges and agenda.

Bezawit Eshetu, Ethiopia chapter Lead, African Circular Economy Network (Ethiopia)

The circular economy has always been part of Africa's DNA. It has always been strongly rooted in practices, activities and traditions. But with the modern life and the Western development model being more and more adopted in Africa, we have to re-connect the people with their relationship to nature (natural ecosystems). Unfortunately capitalism--even in its supposedly social form--is hardly compatible with the Circular Economy: it is not only true in Africa, but also in the rest of the world. The Circular Economy urges us to rethink our needs and focus on the essentials, to rethink our place in and in relationship with nature as an ecosystem; where as capitalism is about creating and nurturing non-essential demand that is falsely perceived as needs; creating unfair social system and systematically using the environment as a commodity. Capitalism is THE linear economy. The Circular Economy pushes us to rethink our current economic model, pushes us to change our relation to the environment and to people.

Murielle Diaco, Founder and CEO of Djouman

The circular economy is not new in Africa. My grandmother used to teach us how to re-use everything from tomato tins, sardine tins, peak milk tins, plastic bags, gallons, etc. back in the 80s, when I visited her in the village during the summer holidays. In fact, we used the peak milk tins to sell groundnuts and bake cupcakes which we sold in the market at her palm wine bar where calabashes and glasses were used for drinking. I never knew plastics! Thriftiness in the rural communities was a way of life, but aligned with the core principles of the circular economy. It did not mean she was very poor, but she was resource efficient as a life principle. We have strangely embraced plastics as a new way of life in Africa which is dangerous to the balance between humankind and nature. With African cities acting as host to 70% of the African population by 2050, one could only but imagine the requisite impact of our irresponsible consumption. We need to go back to basics of understanding the true essence of resource efficiency. At CHAINT AFRIQUE, we are taking a different approach. We understand that regulation is effective but slow in our part of the world. We need engaged consumers as activist for sustainable lifestyles. That’s why we educate consumers about responsible consumption and reward them for engaging in positive actions that align with circular principles. We also acknowledge the challenges relating to accessible, affordable and available sustainable choices to consumers, that’s why we work with industry to provide access to sustainable choices to our engaged consumers via our digital circular platform Ecorewards Africa. We hope that we can contribute towards the narrative of increased resource efficiency by connecting consumers, industry and waste service providers leveraging a participative digital waste ecosystem to help reduce the inherent inefficiencies which are an impediment to the practice of the circular economy in Africa.

Venan Sondo, Chief Inspiration Officer CHAINT AFRIQUE LTD – “Re-imaging Sustainability” www.rewards.eco (Ghana)

In Europe, discussions on the circular economy are often focused on the economic benefits of new business models and resource use in global value chains. By contrast, in Africa we see small-scale examples of circular practices such as waste collection, recycling, repair, refurbishment and informal job creation; these have often emerged through necessity. Yet circularity as a concept is still in its infancy in Africa with case studies remaining largely hidden. The legal and regulatory frameworks needed are still in their infancy in most African countries. The implementation of circular policies and road-maps in Africa has the potential to open up a more inclusive development path, which builds on the characteristics of resilience and resourcefulness. This will enable Africa to leapfrog to a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous economic system.

Peter Desmond, Co-Founder African Circular Economy Network

The Circular Economy (CE) in Africa has actually been practiced for centuries, but has never had a formal name attached to it. A formalised CE structure for Africa is imperative from the governmental level but--due to lack of leadership and corruption--more profitable avenues are sought by those in power. With this mindset, Africa has been unable to develop.The most impactful way of mainlining the CE philosophy in African nations is through education, and practical examples of the CE, like recycling companies, renewable energy and advocacy through organisations such as the African Circular Economy Network. The CE is the only chance Africa has to evolve and usher in a sustainable green industrial revolution. We have all the resources needed for this but traditional sectors such as mining, agriculture, tourism and energy have overshadowed the CE. Whether it's through fear or lack of innovation, the reliance on the failed linear economy is proving to be a challenge in African societies, or should I say in Zambia. This traditional way of doing things has made it difficult for innovation to take hold in communities and for lateral thinking to take place. The CE has the potential to establish new sustainable industries, create employment, skills, development and thus wellbeing. We have the waste, we have the sun, wind and water but where is the innovation to practically use these resources? Finally, surely if the CE is to empower Africa it means that it is Africans themselves who need to establish enterprise, industry and promote innovation. BUT, African businesses do not benefit from conventional impact investment, sustainable development funds, etc. If this is the case, then what purpose will restructuring policy to become more circular have, if Africans are not empowered to create industry? This is not just about financing; it covers mentorship, advise, networking, partnerships and synergies. Currently, the industries that are doing well in Zambia are foreign owned and they get the funds, the grants and the investment. So my question to you is: who is the circular economy for in Africa, if we Africans have not been empowered on any level to take part in the development of the circular economy in our nations?

Ngozika Victoria Onyekwelu, Founder and MD of The Bright Future Project (Zambia)

In contrast to high-income countries, African countries are less industrialized. African countries are characterized by emerging and upcoming economies, which may not be as strongly committed to a linear economy as developed countries. The lack of a strong linear industrialization in the African region provides a great opportunity to design new industrial areas in such a way that a circular economy can be applied. In other words, building industrial areas and the economy from scratch provides the opportunity to implement a circular economy from the beginning and to create cost-efficient, circular, green economies, industrial areas, and cities. African countries have a choice to implement a green pathway in their economy, without implementing a linear economy that focuses on ‘take-make-dispose’. Circular economy practices already exist in the African countries, and African countries have proven to be able to leapfrog innovations. In sum, there is a great window of opportunity to implement a circular economy, which requires alignment with efforts of African countries, cities, governments, private sector, investors, knowledge, research and development organizations. In order to do so, collaboration is the key to develop a Circular Africa – and to implement circular innovations to leapfrog Africa into a circular economy.

Elke Nijman, Founder of Circular Africa

Being a youthful and tech-enthusiast continent, Africa is well placed to leverage technology and go circular. Since 2018, at Wastezon we have been providing technology-enabled circular solutions in East Africa. Our mobile app, which provides households, repairers, and recycling actors with efficient traceability, sorting, and real-time collection services, has diverted over 460 tons of e-waste from ending-up in landfills. I believe with effective environmental policies, there is room for circular innovations in agriculture, mobility, manufacturing, energy, and built environment across Africa. More importantly, when designing an African-targeted circular solution, job creation should be taken into consideration since the continent has a growing young population that needs jobs. It's time for Africa to redefine its circular practices and I believe with the right system and willingness, Africa will be the world's success story in circular economy and sustainability.

Ghislain Irakoze, CEO Wastezon (Rwanda)

Circular economy (CE) is a ‘light’ to resource management across the world. Its promotion of reduction in material use, reduction is waste generation, material reuse and recycling present a comprehensive and responsible way of managing materials efficiently, as aspired by the SDG 12. The absence of any of these however, creates a deficient system which exposes the environment to pollution and resource scarcity. An efficient circular economy system comes with relevant policies and adequate enforcement measures; investment in technical capacity, technology, and research; and well informed people to embrace efficiency practices and all its opportunities. The presence of these factors, which come with CE, can push Africa to have a material use sector that promotes inclusivity and prosperity. Such a system recognises the equally important role of all actors in the value chain, irrespective of their number, size or financial capacity, and seeks to create an enabling environment for all to thrive. It promotes collaboration, respect for diversity, and multi-stakeholder solution-curation. *Disclaimer: The views expressed in this quote/publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations, including UNDP or UN Member States.

Joel Ayim Darkwah, Programme Officer UNDP Ghana

Facilitated by Emanuele Di Francesco

July 2020

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‘Circular Kenya - when the magic happens’ - with Wekesa Zablon Wanyama
‘Indigenous knowledge to power global change’ - with Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
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*Picture by Damian Patkowski ‘Sunset tree in Kenya, Africa’ (on Unsplash)