- Circular Rising
- Posts
- Bioconversion gains traction in Africa’s waste economy
Bioconversion gains traction in Africa’s waste economy
Dear subscriber
Albert Einstein once said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Africa seems to be taking that to heart. The continent may be having difficulties managing its waste, but it is not short of innovative ideas to turn would-be liabilities into assets, from waste to fuel and energy, and now to protein.
Mercy Maina-Editor
 | Across the continent, a new approach to tackling waste is emerging as companies convert organic waste into valuable biological products. The latest example is in Accra, where a partnership between local and Danish companies will build a $2.9 million insect-based facility to process organic waste into animal feed protein and organic fertiliser. |
Bioconversion is the process of using living organisms or biological systems to convert organic materials into useful products such as animal feed, fertiliser, bioenergy and industrial ingredients.
Organic waste accounts for at least 57% of Africa’s municipal solid waste, providing a substantial feedstock base for bioconversion pathways.
Our take: Beyond reducing pressure on landfills, bioconversion helps farmers reduce dependence on imports… Read more (2 min)
 | As Africa advances its circular economy ambitions, Davinah Milenge Uwella of the Africa Circular Economy Facility (ACEF) says the continent’s transition is gaining momentum, with opportunities across five priority sectors. She notes, however, that realising this potential will require addressing financing, standards and capacity constraints. |
Ms Uwella is the Chief Programme Coordinator within the African Development Bank’s Climate Change and Green Growth Department and Task Manager of ACEF, the Bank’s dedicated multi-donor trust fund for promoting a circular economy. The Facility operates as a catalytic instrument to create the conditions for the circular economy transition in Africa.
“The question is no longer whether circular solutions are viable in Africa. The real question is how quickly the enabling conditions can be strengthened to capture the opportunity at scale,” she says.
Find the full conversation here (2 min)
 | Beverage cartons are essential to food distribution across Africa, helping preserve drinks without refrigeration. Yet recycling systems often struggle to recover them. New guidance from the Paris-based Consumer Goods Forum Plastic Waste Coalition of Action suggests policy reforms that could help integrate cartons into circular packaging systems. |
Across much of Africa, waste systems remain underdeveloped, making recyclable packaging materials like cartons difficult to recover as they are often viewed as low value within existing recycling markets.
Experts suggest that policy reforms could be key to unlocking circular packaging, as weak regulatory frameworks and fragmented waste systems continue to limit recovery across many African countries.
Our take: For packaging manufacturers, better designed EPR systems could see greater pressure to adapt packaging design…Read more (2 min)
___________________
Bins at Carrefour Kenya, installed in partnership with ACT to promote textile recycling
Events
🗓️ Be at the West African Clean Energy & Environment Conference (Mar 17)
🗓️ Network at the at the Kenya LOOP Forum (Circular Economy & Expo) (May 19)
🗓️ Register for the Future of Sustainability Conference 2026 in South Africa (Mar 24)
🗓️ Attend the Waste Management Conference in Zimbabwe (Mar 30)
Jobs
🧕 Be the next International Value Chain Development Expert at UNIDO (Zambia)
🧕 Consult on circular economy at ITU (Africa)
🧕 Serve as a Business Development Consultant at Sanivation (Nigeria)
🧕 Work as a Senior Consultant at UN-Habitat (Morocco)
🧕 Develop marketing strategies for Agenski Recycling (Nigeria)
Various
👍 EU backs new incubator to support circular economy startups in Zambia
👗 Carrefour Kenya partners with Africa Collect Textiles to promote textile recycling
💰 Waste-to-protein facility planned in Ghana with $2.9 million investment
🏝️ How plastic bottles are washing up on one of the world's most remote islands
🧑⚖️ Togo lawmakers amend law to introduce circular economy concepts
💰 New models for climate finance can boost sustainability in Africa
❌ Kenyan court suspends waste management tender awarded to Zoomlion Ghana
Seen on LinkedIn
Miriam Gathogo, an environmental advocate, says, “As healthcare systems across Africa continue expanding through vaccination programs, diagnostic services, and growing hospital networks, medical waste volumes will inevitably increase. The question is whether waste management systems will evolve at the same pace.”