Circular Africa: a model for us all?

L’Afrique circulaire : un modèle pour tous ? Photo © Wayne Visser- Barloworld Caterpillar

Alexandre Lemille
Co-founder of ACEN, the African Circular Economy Network

Today, the African continent faces a pivotal choice: to take advantage of the window of opportunity now open to it for committing to a model centered on the circular economy— better still, the fair and circular economy — or replicate the growth models that proved successful in the past for the Americas, Europe and Asia. This is a choice that only Africa can make and benefit from.

The African Development Bank (ABD), African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA) and African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) are fully aware of the importance of this choice. They are working together to forge an ecosystem that will boost the emergence of a model as yet little-known in Africa. The task now is to set in place the foundations of a professional framework for extreme resilience in order to adapt the economy to the social and climate challenges that will impact the continent first of all.

Africa needs to show the way at a time of increasing resource scarcity worldwide and a climate emergency that will make living conditions harder than ever.