ACEA
Nov 11, 2025
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises form the backbone of Africa's economy, yet they face a fundamental challenge: how to demonstrate their circular economy contributions in ways that unlock finance, access markets, and accelerate the green transition. The Global Circularity Protocol for Business (GCP), launched at COP30 by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and UN Environment Programme's One Planet Network, offers a transformative solution. With the African Development Bank's Africa Circular Economy Facility serving on the GCP advisory board, the framework aligns with continental priorities, offering African businesses a competitive advantage in international markets increasingly demanding sustainable sourcing while positioning the continent as a leader in circular manufacturing.
For Africa, where MSMEs represent 80% of formal businesses and drive job creation across the continent, the GCP addresses a critical credibility gap. African entrepreneurs already pioneer circular innovations, from e-waste recovery in Ghana to plastic recycling in Kenya, yet lack standardized metrics to prove their environmental and economic value to formal supply chains, financial institutions, and international buyers. The GCP changes this equation.
"Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of Africa's job creation and green industrialization," explains Davinah Milenge Uwella, Chief Program Coordinator for Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank Group, which serves on the GCP advisory board. "By advancing common standards for businesses, the Global Circularity Protocol has the potential to strengthen SMEs' understanding of circular economy opportunities, expand their access to global markets, and accelerate and scale the green transition."
The protocol's impact extends beyond measurement. With widespread adoption, the GCP could generate 100 to 120 billion tonnes of material savings and avoid 67 to 76 gigatons of CO₂ emissions by 2050 : outcomes particularly significant for Africa, which bears the heaviest burden of climate change despite minimal historical emissions. For a continent where 83% of countries depend heavily on natural resources yet 460 million people live in extreme poverty, circular economy offers a pathway from commodity dependence to value creation.
"The African Development Bank reaffirms its commitment to empowering the private sector to lead this transition across Africa and beyond" emphasized Davinah Milenge Uwella. A commitment illustrated by initiatives like the AfriCircular Programme, funded by the African Circular Economy Facilityand delivered in collaboration with ACEA. Targeting five priority sectors (packaging, electronics, fashion and textiles, food systems and the built environment), the programme supported pioneering enterprises in 2025 across Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Rwanda with tailored coaching, technical assistance, and micro-grants. These ventures received backing precisely because standardized circular metrics enabled credible evaluation of their environmental and economic returns. Building on this foundation, AfriCircular scales in 2026 to seven countries (Zimbabwe, Benin, Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe, Rwanda, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire) expanding support to 150 startups and positioning Africa's circular entrepreneurs to capture opportunities offered by circular economy in the continent: access to the $546 billion global market circularity and 11 million green jobs across the continent.
With the GCP providing globally harmonized, science-based frameworks developed by over 100 experts across 80 organizations, African businesses now have the opportunity to compete in premium markets increasingly demanding sustainable sourcing. Beyond an environmental stewardship, it's a strategic economic transformation positioning Africa's 1.3 billion people and abundant resources as drivers of circular manufacturing and sustainable innovation.