AFRICA UNITES TO TURN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY OPPORTUNITY INTO ACTION AT THE 2026 ACEA ANNUAL MEETING

ACEA

Jul 23, 2026

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The 2026 Annual Meeting of the African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA) concluded with a shared priority: to turn Africa’s circular economy commitments into investment, enterprises and industrial value chains capable of delivering change at scale. Convened from 30 June to 2 July under the theme “Scaling Africa’s Circular Transition: From Policy to Sector-Wide Action”, the meeting brought together representatives of ACEA’s 23 member countries alongside development partners, financial institutions, business leaders, entrepreneurs, standards bodies and trade organisations.

The Government of Côte d’Ivoire welcomed the meeting as host country, alongside the African Development Bank, which hosts the Alliance and supports it through the Africa Circular Economy Facility (ACEF). The Annual Meeting also benefited from the strategic support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE).

The breadth of participation reflected the Alliance’s evolution. Established a decade ago by Rwanda, Nigeria and South Africa, ACEA now brings together 23 countries and more than 20 strategic partners. Its growth mirrors a wider shift in Africa’s development debate: the circular economy is increasingly recognised as a productive and industrial agenda, with the potential to strengthen resilience while creating value and employment.

That shift comes at a pivotal moment. As African economies continue to grow, the continent faces the imperative of generating greater value from its own resources. Resource efficiency, reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling can support new industries, reduce dependence on imports and strengthen economic resilience. The African Union Circular Economy Action Plan 2024–2034 provides a continental direction, while the African Continental Free Trade Area offers the market scale needed to expand circular business models and build regional value chains.

For Dr Anthony Nyong, Director of Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, this transition requires a fundamental change in how the continent uses and values its resources: “Africa must retain more value on the continent. For too long, it has exported raw materials and imported finished products, limiting industrialisation and jobs. The circular economy offers a different pathway, one that lets us recover, repair, remanufacture and reuse resources within our own economies.”

Discussions on critical raw materials brought this proposition into sharper focus. As global demand accelerates, Africa’s advantage will depend on its ability to transform more of its resources locally, develop the required capabilities and build competitive regional industries. Participants called for greater investment in circular enterprises, wider access to finance, harmonised standards and stronger regional markets that can enable promising ventures to move from pilot initiatives to industrial-scale operations.

Scale must also be matched by inclusion. On behalf of PAGE, the International Labour Organization emphasised that Africa’s circular transition should create decent work and expand opportunity, including for groups most at risk of being left behind.

UNDP highlighted the wider development dividend: “Africa’s circular economy transition is not only an environmental imperative; it is an economic opportunity. By keeping materials in use, extending product lifecycles and building regional value chains, African countries can create jobs, strengthen resilience, support industrialisation and accelerate progress towards sustainable development. The time has come to move from commitment to implementation at scale,” said Gael Ollivier, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Côte d’Ivoire.

A major outcome was the commitment by member countries and partners to advance a common African vision and carry it into global policy forums. Ahead of COP31, COP32, the High-level Political Forum and the World Circular Economy Forum, participants agreed to strengthen collaboration and promote the integration of resource efficiency and circular economy principles into climate finance, nationally determined contributions, resilient infrastructure and sustainable industrial development strategies.

The direction is now clear: develop investable projects, mobilise capital, enable enterprises to scale and build the markets through which Africa can convert its resources into greater value, industrial capability and durable employment. Achieving this ambition will require stronger partnerships, supportive regulation and coordinated action across governments, businesses, financial institutions and development partners.