There is an obtrusive high rate of youth unemployment in Africa and there has been conversations around means to mitigate the menace. Many experts unsurprisingly believe that entrepreneurship is the way out for Africa. Entrepreneurship is not just the way out for unemployment, but also the means to drive innovative growth of the economy. To bring it home, the circular economy conversation can only receive the right bolstering through entrepreneurship, hence CE entrepreneurship in Africa.

Just a quick drawback, what is the circular economy, especially as it relates to Africa?

It is important to state that the Circular Economy practice is not new to Africa.

It is a practice that is entrenched in some African tradition. It is important to make this known because Africa needs to take ownership and it should be promoted not as a foreign initiative but rather of local origin which has now been so named. For example, Animal dung has been used for centuries as a soil conditioner and construction material, and scientific knowledge is now also suggesting that it has numerous benefits over artificial fertilizers and cement.

Knowledge Sharing the Vital Key

That said, circular economy entrepreneurship in Africa refers to the implementation of circular economy principles or models by businesses and entrepreneurs in Africa to create economic, social, and environmental benefits. This involves designing, producing, using, and reusing products and resources in a way that minimizes waste and pollution, conserves natural resources, and creates economic value. Circular economy entrepreneurs in Africa often focus on developing innovative solutions for waste management, resource efficiency, and sustainable consumption patterns, which can help to create new jobs, improve the quality of life for communities, and support the transition to a more sustainable future. Circular economy entrepreneurship is growing in Africa and this momentum needs to be sustained through needed knowledge support to drive down the impact of youth unemployment and to bring about needed sustainable development in Africa. This is why the Circular Business Platform (CBP) came up with this circular knowledge support webinar for entrepreneurs in Africa with the aim of steering conversations around issues that are pertinent to Circular Entrepreneurship in Africa. 

The Circular Economy Entrepreneurship in Africa webinar series is structured to happen once every two months to host circular entrepreneurs across Africa and to have them learn from industry experts with the goal to improve business services by examining key themes in CE entrepreneurship such as access to investment, technology and R&D and policy.

The 6-part webinar series commenced at the 2022 World Circular Economy Forum, and it is billed to end in October 2023.

Learn more about the sessions here.