Building Resilience Through Circular Innovation: Insights from Nairobi’s Circular Economy

Why Circularity Matters in Nairobi

Nairobi, Kenya's capital, faces mounting challenges from rapid urbanisation, population growth, and rising consumption rates. The city generates over 2.3 million tonnes of waste annually, of which less than 10% is recycled. Informal waste workers, responsible for much of the waste collection and recycling, operate in hazardous and inequitable conditions. Poor infrastructure, limited enforcement of waste policies, and fragmented networks exacerbate the inefficiencies in Nairobi’s waste management system.

The Nairobi Circular Economy Baseline Study highlights circularity as a pivotal solution to these challenges. A circular economy reduces waste, generates jobs, addresses environmental degradation, and fosters innovation. By embedding circular principles into Nairobi’s waste management ecosystem, policymakers, businesses, and communities can unlock significant environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Mapping the Circular Economy in Nairobi

1. The Current State of Circularity: Nairobi’s waste management ecosystem is largely informal and fragmented. While there are growing efforts to adopt circular practices—such as recycling, sustainable product design, and circular business models—implementation remains limited due to insufficient incentives and infrastructure. Key barriers include:

• Lack of stakeholder coordination: Stakeholders, including businesses, NGOs, and government, often operate in silos.

• Policy gaps: Inconsistent enforcement of waste management regulations like the Sustainable Waste Management Act and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations.

• Low awareness: Limited public understanding of circular principles and waste separation practices.

2. Informal Waste Workers: The Backbone of Circularity

Informal waste workers comprise over 60% of Nairobi’s waste management workforce and play a critical yet undervalued role. These workers collect, sort, and recycle waste under hazardous conditions, earning an average of less than $2 per day. Despite their contributions, they are drastically underserved and face significant challenges:

• Health risks: Exposure to toxic waste and lack of protective equipment.

• Income insecurity: Inconsistent payment from households and limited bargaining power with recyclers.

• Social barriers: Stigmatisation and exclusion from formal decision-making processes.

3. Stakeholder Networks: The study identifies over 200 stakeholders in Nairobi’s waste ecosystem, including businesses, NGOs, government entities, and community-based organisations (CBOs). Key findings include:

• Businesses (35%) and NGOs (28%) dominate the ecosystem, which is increasingly focused on circular innovations.

• Influential connectors, such as UNEP, GrowthAfrica, and the Kenya Climate Innovation Center, play pivotal roles in fostering collaboration.

• However, bottlenecks such as fragmented funding and siloed operations hinder systemic progress.

Pathways to Circular Transformation

Three strategic pathways for driving circularity in Nairobi.

1. Capacity Building for Circular Entrepreneurship: Empowering waste workers, entrepreneurs, and businesses with the skills, resources, and networks to innovate within the circular economy is crucial. Key recommendations include:

• Training programs: Develop targeted training on waste separation, recycling technologies, and sustainable business models, focusing on marginalised groups like women.

• Incubation and acceleration: Partner with existing hubs to provide financial support to early and late-stage circular startups and foster scalable solutions.

• Access to finance: Facilitate micro-loans, grants, and partnerships to enable waste workers and entrepreneurs to invest in infrastructure like shredders and biogas converters.

2. Strengthening Innovation Ecosystems: Circularity Clusters - innovation hubs that unite diverse stakeholders - are an innovative solution to strengthening Nairobi’s circularity ecosystem. Priority actions include:

• Cross-sector collaboration: Foster partnerships between businesses, NGOs, and informal workers to share knowledge, resources, and best practices.

• Policy advocacy: Work with government agencies to enforce EPR regulations and incentivise sustainable product design.

• Data-driven decision-making: Invest in robust data collection and monitoring systems to track progress and inform future interventions.

3. Improving Livelihoods and Working Conditions: Recognising the contributions of informal waste workers is essential to achieving a just transition. Recommendations include:

• Formalisation of waste worker groups: Support the registration of waste worker associations and provide training on group management and advocacy.

• Health and safety measures: Subsidise protective equipment and introduce affordable collective health insurance schemes.

• Inclusive governance: Ensure waste workers are represented in policy dialogues and decision-making processes at local and national levels.

A Circular Future for Nairobi

The Nairobi Circular Economy Baseline Study underscores the immense potential of circularity to address urban challenges while driving social and economic impact. By focusing on capacity building, ecosystem strengthening, and improved livelihoods, Nairobi can become a model for sustainable waste management in Africa.

At Kercombe Consulting, we are committed to supporting this vision. Through our expertise in research, strategy, and impact measurement, we aim to empower stakeholders to create lasting change. Together, we can harness the power of the circular economy to build a cleaner, greener, and more equitable future.