Resources

This green financing assessment report is accompanied by Guidelines to Accelerate the Transition Towards a Circular Economy in Africa, which seek to enhance the ongoing efforts to promote green business and a circular economy in the region. Promoting circular economy approaches requires galvanising public and private financing mechanisms to ensure access to capital for firms of all sizes. This report aims to provide an up-to-date and broad understanding of the financial mechanisms available to MSMEs in the region

Africa, a continent of immense diversity and untapped potential, stands at a crucial crossroads in its pursuit of sustainable development. It grapples with formidable environmental challenges, encapsulated in the ‘Triple Planetary Crisis’ of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution. Yet, within these challenges lie boundless opportunities for transformative and ecologically friendly business ventures that could drive economic growth and foster regional environmental stewardship and social progress.

The Government’s vision is to promote an inclusive, high income and green Mauritius. In line with this vision and to support this transition to a green economy paradigm, it is important to align the national vision with sectoral policies and engage the collaborative efforts of all key stakeholders. A National Policy Dialogue was organised in the context of the Switch Africa Green project by the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management, and Climate Change.

A SWITCH Africa Green regional meeting on the theme “Advancing Green Business and the Circular Economy in Africa” was held in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 and 25 February 2020. More than 300 participants attended the meeting, which drew senior government officials from over 25 African countries and  representatives from the European Union, regional economic communities, financial institutions, academia, United Nations agencies and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

The SWITCH Africa Green regional sector meeting on green manufacturing took place on 26 and 27 September 2019 in Entebbe, Uganda. It provided a platform for dialogue among   sustainable consumption and production (SCP) experts, policy- and decision-makers, financial institutions, and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) about scaling up and replicating green business opportunities in the manufacturing sector.

The SWITCH Africa Green regional meeting on sustainable tourism was held on 29 and 30 October 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda. The meeting was a platform for discussion on the economic viability of enterprises in the sustainable tourism sector that had improved livelihoods, generated income and created jobs while preserving the environment.

The SWITCH Africa Green regional sector meeting on sustainable agriculture was held on 27 and 28 November 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting served as a platform for stakeholders from Government, the private sector and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the agriculture sector to discuss the scale-up and replication of best practices.

The SWITCH Africa Green regional sector meeting on integrated waste management was held on  11 and 12 June 2019 in Accra, Ghana. The meeting provided a platform for dialogue among sustainable consumption and production (SCP) experts, policy- and decision-makers, financial institutions and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) about scaling up and replicating green business opportunities in the integrated waste sector.

This report presents an analysis of the implementation and results of the SWITCH Africa Green programme in the manufacturing sector focusing on the participating countries Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. It covers the strategic interventions, results realised, cross cutting thematic issues notably energy, water, eco-innovation, labels and standards, sustainable trade and markets, challenges, lessons learnt and presents a set of recommendations.

This report presents an analysis of the implementation and results of the SWITCH Africa Green programme in the integrated waste management (IWM) sector focusing on the participating countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. It covers the strategic interventions in the waste sector notably municipal solid waste management, e-waste management, waste to energy (e.g. biogas production and briquette production), as well as industrial symbiosis (IS).

This report presents an analysis of the implementation and results of the SWITCH Africa Green programme in the tourism sector focusing on the participating countries Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. It covers the strategic interventions on sustainable tourism such as sustainable consumption and production patterns in hotels, promoting community based tourism (CBT) practices and promoting inclusive business and eco entrepreneurship in the tourism industry (ecotourism).

This report presents an analysis of the implementation and results of the SWITCH Africa Green programme in the agriculture sector focusing on the participating countries Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda.

The SWITCH Africa Green Implementation Plan developed for Burkina Faso identifies the actions to be implemented to address challenges of promoting green business development. The process of developing the implementation plan involved reviewing the policy framework of the country and its implications in promoting sustainable practices among micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Kenya developed the SWITCH Africa Green Policy Implementation Plan which describes in depth policies, laws and regulations, and identies implementation gaps and strategies. The implementation plan responds to policy needs to build and scale up green growth initiatives in the agriculture, manufacturing and tourism sectors through adoption of sustainable consumption and production practices.

A desktop study of the South African economy was undertaken to support the implementation of the programme and review of various country priorities. The study comprised of a review of current green economy initiatives in the country. The policy and regulatory environment underpinning the selected sectors, (i.e. agriculture, manufacturing, and integrated waste management) were also summarized. 

Implementation of the ‘SWITCH Africa Green” programme in Uganda started in 2015, with technical support from UNEP and funding support from the European Union.

The aim of this programme is to support private sector led inclusive green growth by providing capacity for both policy makers and private sector actors to advocate for Sustainable Production and Consumption (SCP) practices in agriculture, Manufacturing and Tourism.

The SWITCH Africa Green Country Implementation Plan details the findings of the policy support component for the Republic of Mauritius, including Rodrigues, with regard to the identified priority sectors namely: Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Tourism, with Energy, Water, Eco Innovation, Eco Labelling and Sustainable Trade as crosscutting issues.

The Green Economy Strategy is geared towards enabling Kenya to attain a higher economic growth rate consistent with the Vision 2030, which firmly embeds the principles of sustainable development in the overall national growth strategy.

The SWITCH Africa Green Country Implementation Plan presents output of consultations held with the key stakeholders during the different levels of the formulation of the Programme; contributing to the formulation and development of the key project themes and criteria and key elements of the Programme in Ghana; and the institutional processes for the Country Implementation strategy are included.