By Michael Foli Jackidy
Ho (V/R), Oct. 7, GNA – Stakeholders in Ghana’s circular economy sector have called for stronger investment in green skills, innovation, financing and market development to accelerate the country’s transition towards a sustainable and resource-efficient economy.
They said the success of the circular economy depended not only on policies and infrastructure but also on people with the practical skills to transform waste and other materials into valuable products and businesses.
The call was made at the maiden Ghana Circular Economy Annual Conference 2026, organised by the Ghana Circular Economy Centre (GCEC) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, at Ho Technical University.
The two-day conference, on the theme: “Circular Economy in Action: Advancing Sustainable Innovation, Industrial Growth, Investment, and Job Creation in Ghana,” focused on circular economy policy and industrial transformation, sustainable innovation and enterprise development, investment and financing, job creation under Ghana’s 24-hour economy, and plastics, textiles, agriculture and agro-processing value chains.
Ms Cordie Aziz-Nash, the Founder and Executive Director of Environment360, delivering the keynote address, said Ghana did not lack waste but needed more people equipped with the knowledge and skills to identify opportunities in waste and transform it into products of value.
She said while recycling rates, policies, infrastructure and investment were important, the people who designed products, operated machines, understood materials and built businesses around them, were equally critical to the circular economy.
Ms Aziz-Nash said Environment360’s experience had demonstrated that collection alone could not create a circular economy, stressing the need for functioning systems covering collection, sorting, processing, production, infrastructure, finance, skills and markets.
She said the organisation had shifted its focus towards developing green practitioners through practical training, explaining that people needed opportunities to handle materials, operate equipment, solve practical problems and test and improve their ideas.
She cited a pilot project involving harvested water hyacinth, recycled paper and cassava-based binder to explore the production of paper for possible packaging applications.
Ms Aziz-Nash also advocated decentralised recycling hubs to support collection, sorting, material preparation, skills development and early-stage testing, while larger processors and manufacturers could help scale products when supply, quality and markets were ready.
She said the circular economy could contribute directly to Ghana’s industrial ambitions through recycling, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, efficient resource use and local value addition.
Ms Aziz-Nash said there was also a strong connection between circular businesses and Ghana’s 24-hour economy agenda, particularly through production, supply chains, markets and skills.
She urged stakeholders to consider whether enterprises had reliable supplies of suitable materials, access to finance and customers, and whether workers had the practical training, safe working conditions and opportunities needed to benefit from the transition.
Dr Marindame Kombale, the Executive Director of the Ghana Circular Economy Centre, said the country needed to move from conversations about the circular economy to implementation, with greater focus on enterprises, investment, job creation and industrial transformation.
He said the Centre, in collaboration with its value-chain partners, had trained more than 2,500 entrepreneurs and ecosystem actors, 58 per cent of whom were women and 62 per cent young people.
Dr Kombale said the Centre had also supported close to 90 circular enterprises, technologies and innovations across priority value chains and engaged more than 600 financial sector actors from 250 financial institutions to strengthen access to finance.
He said the products exhibited at the conference demonstrated that the circular economy was already producing enterprises, innovations and investment opportunities in Ghana.
Dr Kombale said the major challenge was to help promising ideas and early-stage businesses develop into investable enterprises capable of growing, competing and creating jobs.
He therefore called for stronger partnerships to scale the work of the Ghana Circular Economy Centre and ensure measurable economic impact.
Mr Eric Gyenin, the Country Programme Coordinator at UNIDO, said the circular economy was no longer a peripheral concept but an urgent response to climate change, resource depletion and pollution.
He said the traditional linear model of “take, make and dispose” was unsustainable and needed to be replaced with a system that promoted sharing, reuse, repair, refurbishment and recycling.
Mr Gyenin said the circular economy offered opportunities for economic resilience, job creation, innovation and improved livelihoods, while reducing pressure on natural resources and the environment.
He said UNIDO was supporting countries to develop circular economy strategies, promote sustainable industrial practices, foster innovation and technology adoption, facilitate access to finance, strengthen value chains and markets, and develop the skills required for emerging circular economy jobs.
Professor Ben Honyenuga, the Vice Chancellor of the Ho Technical University, said the University was committed to using education, research, innovation and industry collaboration to support Ghana’s transition towards a circular economy.
He said the University provided a suitable environment for the conference because of its focus on practical education and its commitment to sustainable development.
Prof. Honyenuga said the Ghana Circular Economy Centre, hosted by Ho Technical University, would support the development of locally designed circular economy technologies, innovations and business models that could be tested, validated and scaled across Ghana and beyond.
He said the initiative could help create new enterprises, strengthen existing businesses, generate decent jobs, and build a more resilient and sustainable economy.
The Vice Chancellor said the University was committed to embedding circular economy principles into its teaching, research and community engagement programmes and developing technicians, artisans and other skilled workers needed to drive the transition.
He encouraged participants to use the conference to develop partnerships and practical solutions in areas including circular business models, green entrepreneurship, resource efficiency, cleaner production, sustainable agriculture and agro-processing, textile circularity and plastic waste management.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/ Christabel Addo