Circularity policies become a must-have item at the top table

From the newsletter

As the continent builds momentum toward circularity, governments are moving to anchor the transition within formal national policy frameworks. Benin has launched its national circular economy roadmap, joining a growing list of governments seeking to institutionalise circularity through structured regulatory frameworks.

• While the circular transition is still evolving, governments are increasingly seeking to close a longstanding policy fragmentation gap that has constrained the sector’s development. 

• Even as regulatory ambition accelerates, how it will interact with longstanding implementation constraints remains uncertain, particularly in contexts where infrastructure gaps, financing limitations and informality continue to shape waste systems.

More details

• Weak regulatory frameworks have long been cited as a key challenge to Africa’s circular transition, with many countries lacking robust policies to support the shift. Where frameworks do exist, enforcement has often proved difficult. This is exacerbated by policy fragmentation across countries further constraining efforts to build a coherent and scalable circular economy.

• In response, the African Union, with the support of the European Union (EU), launched the Continental Circular Economy Plan (CEAP) in July 2025 in a bid to institutionalise circularity at continental level and address fragmentation. The ten-year plan aims to advance sustainability, drive economic growth and improve resource efficiency across Africa by prioritising strategic sectors including agriculture, packaging, energy, construction, manufacturing, electronics, technology and the fashion and textiles industries. The plan is intended to act as a reference point for countries developing national circular economy strategies, helping to promote alignment and address fragmentation.

• Since then, momentum has translated into national policy action. Chad’s Circular Economy Roadmap launched in July 2025 set targets including a 40 per cent reduction in non-recycled waste by 2035 and the creation of 25,000 green jobs across sectors. In the same month, Ethiopia unveiled its National Circular Economy Roadmap, outlining a ten-year transition prioritising waste management, water and sanitation alongside agriculture, construction, textiles and leather. Benin followed on February 5 with its Circular Economy Action Plan, which targets a 25 per cent recycling rate by 2035, expanded waste collection coverage and support for 300 circular enterprises. Cameroon is expected to launch its National Circular Economy Roadmap soon.

• In parallel, development partners are supporting these initiatives. The African Development Bank (AfDB), through its African Circular Economy Facility (ACEF), has been financing the National Circular Economy Roadmaps project, implemented in partnership with the African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA). The project has played a central role in the recent wave of national circular economy plans across the continent, including in Chad, Benin and Ethiopia.

• Alongside formal national plans, regulatory reforms are also emerging across the continent. Kenya has begun implementing extended producer responsibility laws, while Nigeria is consulting stakeholders on a policy aimed at addressing the growing marine litter crisis along its coastline. In Lagos, efforts to enforce a ban on single-use plastics are being accompanied by plans to introduce compulsory waste sorting at source. Further south, South Africa’s draft National Waste Management Strategy 2026 outlines measures to reduce waste, increase recycling and support circular economy objectives over the next five years.

• However, the success of this policy wave will hinge on implementation and financing. While Africa has made notable progress in developing regulatory frameworks, enforcement has historically proved uneven, as evidenced by patchy application of single-use plastics bans across several jurisdictions. Implementation is also resource-intensive. Although actors such as the EU and the AFDB are supporting policy design, sustained domestic financial and institutional commitment will determine whether current momentum translates into durable structural change.

• Regulatory ambition may also be outpacing market readiness. Many waste systems remain heavily informal, infrastructure deficits persist and private-sector compliance capacity varies widely. Without parallel investment in systems, skills and enterprise development, new frameworks risk remaining aspirational rather than transformative.

Our take

• If these efforts succeed, they could mark a structural shift in how Africa’s circular economy develops. Clearer policies would reduce uncertainty, attract investment and help waste and recycling become part of mainstream industrial and trade strategy rather than stand-alone environmental programmes.

• Expanding policy frameworks may signal progress, but without credible implementation timelines and accountability mechanisms, circular commitments risk adding to Africa’s stock of ambitious plans that outpace delivery.