Funding tracker: North Africa takes 95% of sector investments

From the newsletter

In April, circular economy investments were heavily skewed towards North Africa, which secured a remarkable 95% of the total $157.7 million raised across the continent. Egypt alone captured $150 million, while West Africa's Ghana and Nigeria collectively raised $7.7 million to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the sector.

• Egypt’s funding targeted large-scale government infrastructure. Of the $150 million, 53%—approximately $80 million—will upgrade the East Alexandria Treatment Plant, expected to serve 1.5 million people with 300,000 cubic meters of water per day.  

• The remaining $70 million (47%) will expand Cairo’s Yellow Mountain Wastewater Treatment Plant, one of the largest facilities of its kind in Africa and the Middle East.

More details

• The bulk of Egypt’s funding—90% or $135 million—came as a loan from the French Development Agency (AFD), with the remaining 10% ($15 million) provided as grants by AFD and the European Union.

• In contrast, West Africa’s $7.7 million in funding was fully grant-based and geared toward SMEs innovating in waste management—signaling a more grassroots approach to circular economy development in the region.

• In Ghana, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) granted $7 million to support 10 SMEs piloting innovative plastic waste solutions. These include Coliba Waste Management Services, McKingtorch Africa, Nelplast Eco Ghana, IRECOP/Zoomlion, Maintenance Sustainability Africa, UPPR, Pure Home Water and three consortia: Asase, Sesa and City Waste Recycling.

• In Nigeria, a $0.67 million grant from Transform West Africa—an impact accelerator backed by Unilever, the UK Government and EY—is supporting three recycling startups. Chanja Datti is decentralising waste processing through Micro-Recycling Plants (MRPs) near collection points. Scrapays operates a digital platform connecting waste producers to aggregators and processors. The third startup also focuses on localised recycling innovation.

• April's funding figures underscore a clear imbalance: concessional loans made up 85% of total capital, while grants accounted for just 15%. This reveals that debt—rather than philanthropy or risk capital—is the dominant financing model, particularly for large-scale government-led projects.

• The data also highlights a stark disparity in distribution: two infrastructure projects absorbed 95% of funding ($150 million), while 13 startups split the remaining 5% ($7.7 million). 

• Compared to March, April saw a dramatic 98.3% drop in total circular economy funding—from $9.5 billion to just $157.7 million. However, April showed higher relative support for startups, with early-stage ventures receiving $7.67 million—more than double the $3.5 million allocated in March, marking a 119% increase.

• April was loan-dominated, with 85% of funding issued as debt, while March featured a more diverse mix of loans, government allocations, self-financing, grants and equity. Both months were heavily skewed toward public infrastructure, which absorbed around 95% of the total funding.

Our take

• The heavy concentration of funding in North Africa, particularly Egypt’s infrastructure projects, reveals a preference for large-scale, government-led initiatives.

• The stark imbalance—95% of funds going to just two infrastructure projects as startups share a meagre 5%—exposes how early-stage innovators are sidelined. Despite their potential for scalable, localised impact, startups remain underfunded, limiting the growth of bottom-up solutions vital for a resilient circular economy.

• April’s funding mix shows Africa’s circular economy is being built on debt. With concessional loans making up 85% of capital, the dominance of government-led borrowing raises questions about long-term sustainability.