Guidelines for Accelerating the Circular Economy Transition in Africa

This report provides non-prescriptive continental guidelines to accelerate Africa’s transition to a circular economy in response to resource pressures, population growth, and sustainability challenges. It situates the circular economy within Africa’s development context and identifies structural barriers, including limited awareness, weak coordination, market constraints, and misaligned financing. The report outlines critical policy, regulatory, institutional, and financial enablers and describes stages of adoption across countries. Its core contribution is a set of five mutually reinforcing guidelines focused on awareness, policy roadmaps and governance, market demand, access to finance, and sector-specific priorities, supported by best practices and institutional roles at national, regional, and continental levels.