Accra, May 14, GNA-The Executive Chairman of Jospong Group, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has called for partnership rooted in shared interest and mutual respect, declaring that “Africa does not need sympathy.
“Africa needs partnership built on shared interest, mutual respect and a common vision,” he stated.
A statement issued by Jospong Group of Companies and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the Dr Agyapong made the call at the opening of the Africa Forward Summit at the University of Nairobi in Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr. Agyepong rejected the mindset that forced Africans to access capital markets only under restrictive conditions.
“Why should Africa export her problems when she can build industries to solve them? Why does Africa not have access to capital markets without tough conditions and restrictions? And why has Africa not yet fully utilised and harnessed the wealth of natural resources and human capital available to her?” he asked, presenting the three questions that have guided every decision he has made.
The two-day summit which was co-hosted by Kenya’s President William Ruto and France’s President Emmanuel Macron, marked the first Africa-France summit co-chaired with an English-speaking African nation.
Under the theme: “To Build Together,” the gathering includes seven thematic pillars ranging from energy transition and AI to blue economy and reform of the international financial architecture.
Dr. Agyepong revealed his humble beginnings, growing up with sixteen siblings and selling goods as a street hawker due to financial difficulties.
“My initial capital of 3 dollars from my mother as investment launched me into the world of entrepreneurship, birthing resilience and enthusiasm,” he said.
From those footsteps, he told the audience the Jospong Group has grown into a conglomerate with 82 independent subsidiaries across nine business clusters, active in 29 countries, employing 10,000 direct staff and creating more than 250,000 indirect jobs.
Addressing the summit’s focus on financial growth through entrepreneurship in waste management, Dr. Agyepong said the world generated 2.1 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually and was set to reach 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.
“Sub-Saharan Africa alone produces over 174 million tonnes a year, yet less than 4% is properly managed or recycled – compared to Europe’s 48% recycling rate”.
“Every tonne of unmanaged waste in Africa is not a failure. It is an unmined resource waiting for the entrepreneur to be bold enough to claim it,” he stressed.
He noted that Jospong had spent 20 years building capacity, operating 40 treatment plants across material recovery, liquid waste, medical waste, and hazardous waste – making it the largest waste management operator in Africa.
“We have technical solutions and financial models. What is still needed is the capital and the partnerships to grow,” he added.
Turning to global finance, Dr. Agyepong urged investors to rethink how they assess risk, saying, “Long-term capital put into African circular economy businesses generates returns that short-term models simply cannot match. In waste management, demand never goes down. Investing here is not being generous. It is building a long-term partnership with a continent.”
He called on development partners to remodel their financial architecture to support African-led solutions and invited collaboration alongside the African Development Bank, BPI, AFD Group, the International Finance Corporation, European development finance institutions, European EXIM and European ECA.
Dr. Agyepong committed Jospong Group to open collaboration, co-investment and leading continent-wide conversations on circular economy financing and committed to scaling its environmental platform to five new African markets by 2028, creating 50,000 green jobs, and opening its models to co-investment on equal terms.
“The green economy is not coming to Africa. We are building it. The invitation is open to all who will choose to build with us,” he said.
“Africa’s story is being written right now, in this room. When historians look back, they will not see a continent held back by its challenges. They will see the moment Africa chose to turn its greatest challenges into its greatest industries. Waste is not Africa’s shame. Waste is Africa’s next frontier,” he added.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei