Funding tracker: Egypt leads in circular investments

From the newsletter

The North African nation of Egypt secured the lion’s share of Africa’s circular economy funding in June, receiving $22.6 million, or 91.5% of the continent’s total of $24.7 million. The Circular Rising funding tracker shows that the remaining investments, each valued at $300,000, were distributed across seven countries in West and East Africa.

• The Egyptian deal, the single largest circular economy investment on the continent in June, is a grant from the European Investment Bank to accelerate recycling infrastructure and environmental reform.

• Most of the total, $21.5 million, will co-finance recycling and pollution-reduction initiatives, while $1.1 million will be used to digitalise Egypt’s environmental agency to enhance monitoring, enforcement and sustainability oversight.

More details

• The remaining $2.1 million in June’s circular economy funding came from the Global Framework on Chemicals Fund, awarded as grants to seven African countries to support global efforts to phase out highly hazardous pesticides. Each country will receive at least $300,000 to implement a targeted national project.

• In West Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Senegal will implement the project Highly Hazardous Pesticides: Analysis, Regulation and Sustainable Alternatives. Meanwhile, in East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania will roll out Building Capacity for Replacing Highly Hazardous Pesticides with Agroecology, which aims to strengthen sustainable farming practices and regulatory frameworks.

• June marked a welcome rebound in circular economy investment, with total funding rising sharply from just $516,000 in May to $24.7 million. It was the third-highest investment month in the first half of 2025, behind only April ($157.7 million) and March ($62.9 million), signalling renewed, though uneven, momentum in green financing flows to the continent.

• While Egypt’s outsized grant skews the total, the presence of seven smaller deals across three regions reflects a continued donor preference for geographic diversity over depth, dispersing smaller investments rather than consolidating resources into large-scale programs.

• Although the month continued the trend of small, targeted investments, it also reflected a clear shift toward national priorities such as recycling infrastructure, sustainability oversight, and pesticide pollution control.

• All June investments were grants, highlighting the continued dependence on donor-led, non-commercial capital in Africa’s circular economy space.

• Notably, unlike May, which focused largely on community-based startups, June’s funding returned to state-led implementation, with all eight deals channelled through national governments. This shift may reflect a growing donor preference for public institutions, particularly in areas requiring regulatory coordination and enforcement, such as chemical bans and recycling compliance.

Our take

• Egypt’s ability to secure over 91% of June’s total funding highlights the power of a well-structured national strategy aligned with donor priorities, something other nations may need to emulate if they hope to unlock similarly large-scale, integrated financing for circular economy transformation.

• June’s jump in funding marks a much-needed turnaround after May’s low in circular economy finance. While still modest compared to earlier highs, the recovery to $24.7 million signals renewed donor engagement and growing momentum heading into the second half of the year.

• The focus on pesticide regulation and sustainability oversight points to a welcome shift toward niche but critical areas of the circular economy. These sectors, often sidelined, are essential for long-term environmental health and are finally attracting dedicated financing.