After Kigali in Rwanda in 2022, Helsinki, the capital of Finland, will host the 7th Circular Economy Forum (WCEF2023) from 30 May to 1 June 2023. The event, which will mobilise numerous partners and socio-economic actors, particularly from Africa, will focus on innovation in the protection of biodiversity.
From 30 May to 1 June 2023, the Global Circular Economy Forum returns to the city of Helsinki in Finland where it was first organised in 2017. The meeting is being piloted by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra in partnership with Nordic Innovation. This seventh edition will focus on “finding circular solutions” for resource conservation.
“The time is right to accelerate towards a circular economy and Africa can lead the world towards a more resilient economy through new forms of collaboration. Circular economy solutions can make our societies more resilient and lay the foundation for sustainable well-being. Sticking to the current wasteful linear economy is simply not an option, as global warming and biodiversity loss are pressing issues,” says Jyrki Katainen, Sitra’s president.
According to the Managing Director of Nordic Innovation, the three-day event in Helsinki will ultimately contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the sharing of experiences between nations and economic operators. “Circular interventions in the food and agriculture, construction, textile and forestry sectors can halt the loss of biodiversity by 2035,” explains Svein Berg.
At the sixth WCEF, which closed on 8 December 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda, several young African entrepreneurs presented their circular solutions, particularly in the waste, eco-construction and agro-ecology sectors. This is the case of the Tanzanian start-up “BioBuu”, which uses maggots to recycle organic waste into animal feed, and the “Hustlenomics” platform, which has been offering sustainable housing in the suburbs of South Africa since its creation in 2015.
Read also-AFRICA: the circular economy, an ally for the ecological transition
In addition to these initiatives, the various development partners have committed to investing more in the transition to a circular economy on the African continent. This is the case for the African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA), the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), which recently launched the African Circular Economy Facility (ACEF).
For more information on the event, click here.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
