Date: Thursday 27/05/2021

Time: 15:00 – 17:00

Host: Footprints Africa Limited

Accra, Ghana

This session will highlight circular economy business models across Africa and discuss how they can be replicated and/ or improved in other regions.

This session will share insights from a recent circular economy report we published showcasing initiatives across Africa. The session will highlight a few business models which will be backed with stories from some entrepreneurs featured in the report. In break-out rooms, participants will have the opportunity to compare the highlighted business models to initiatives from their own context. We will discuss the advantages, disadvantages, and possible areas of improvement for these business models.

Deborah Nartey

Deborah is passionate about the use of research in identifying palpable examples of existing knowledge and divulging solutions to current challenges. At Footprints, she undertakes research on global best practice in circular economy and how these can be applied in the local context. Outside of Footprints, she runs an NGO that seeks to empower children and youth in Ghanaian communities through education.

Joanna Bingham

Joanna developed a passion for the role of business in reducing poverty and contributing to environmental restoration whilst an investment analyst. On secondment to the Wood Foundation in Tanzania, which worked to fundamentally transform an entire value chain, she worked with all participants from regulators to private sector to smallholder farmers in the tea sector. Her interest in system level change led to a Post-Grad diploma on Innovation and the Circular Economy, highlighting the need to understand the systems in which social problems exist and rethinking traditional assumptions about how change occurs. Footprints was born from these experiences with the intention of ensuring that economic development is inclusive and leads to more resilient local economies.