Seven solutions for building stronger regional circular electronics ecosystems in Africa

Africa’s growing access to electronics, telecommunications and renewable energy is improving connectivity, supporting businesses and widening access to essential services. Yet the same expansion is creating a rapidly growing e-waste challenge. Africa generated an estimated 3.5 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022, of which only 0.7 per cent was documented as formally collected and recycled.

The continent does not start from zero. Collectors, repairers, refurbishers and recyclers already keep equipment in use, recover parts and return materials to markets. These activities support livelihoods and affordable access to electronic goods. However, many operators lack the finances, technology, market access or specialist treatment options needed to capture more value, refine complex material fractions and manage hazardous materials safely.

The concept of regional circular electronics ecosystems offers a way forward. They aim to connect local collection and repair networks with national processing facilities, services shared between regional blocks and international facilities where advanced treatment is still required.

For African economies, flourishing regional ecosystems could support skilled employment, stronger businesses, longer equipment lifetimes and safer end-of-life management. Yet creating them is not straightforward. Collection and repair networks are often fragmented, material flows are difficult to quantify, finance is limited, standards and customs procedures differ between countries, and many operators struggle to compete with informal routes. Advanced treatment capacity is also unevenly distributed, while markets for recovered materials and refurbished products are not always reliable.

Within regional ecosystems, collection, inspection and everyday repair generally remains close to users in local markets. National operators may undertake more advanced inspection, refurbishment, dismantling and material preparation. Specialist repair, testing, recycling or treatment services might serve several countries. In fact, momentum around the concept has already started to be built through a regional initiative in Eastern Africa and a continent-wide project. Specialist materials and late-stage processing often still need to reach established international refiners.

Stronger international collaboration is central, and the good news is that Africa’s trade and collaboration partnerships are diversifying. EU–Africa relations have a particularly important role in helping address these barriers, provided they are built around African priorities and existing capabilities rather than treating the continent primarily as a source of materials or a destination for equipment. European partners can contribute technical expertise, patient finance, market access, training, standards development and partnerships in repair, refurbishment, recycling and responsible refining. African institutions and businesses, in turn, can shape the systems, services and regional value chains that retain more economic value locally.

The opportunity is therefore not simply to move more e-waste through formal channels, but to build commercially viable and socially inclusive ecosystems that connect local activity with regional infrastructure and trusted international partners. Whether that opportunity is realised depends on answering seven practical questions:

1. Can responsible formal pathways compete with existing informal and semi-formal channels?
   
   Informal and semi-formal actors provide much of Africa’s collection, repair, dismantling and trading infrastructure, so excluding them could restrict supply and undermine livelihoods. Responsible pathways will struggle if upstream suppliers face slower payment, lower returns or more burdensome requirements than competing informal or illicit channels offer. Transparent pricing, faster or partial payment, shipment finance, purchasing commitments and practical traceability systems could help formal routes compete.
2. Is there enough commercially available supply at the required scale?
   
   Data on how much used equipment or e-waste an operator can secure, when it will become available or where it currently flows is currently inadequate. Enterprise equipment (e.g., telecoms, renewable energy technologies and public-sector assets) may offer more predictable supplies than mixed household collection because their owners and replacement cycles are easier to identify. Regional initiatives through more of Africa’s Regional Economic Committees could therefore seek to combine comparable statistics with evidence from operators before major facilities are developed.
3. Can repair, refurbishment and local value retention be protected?
   
   Working and repairable products usually have greater economic and social value than their raw materials, yet weight-based collection incentives can encourage premature dismantling. Early inspection and testing could direct equipment towards reuse, repair, refurbishment or remanufacturing before recycling. Many European manufacturers are well placed to support this through diagnostics, spare parts, software, technical knowledge and warranties, building on partnership models such as One Circle in Egypt.
4. Which products and material fractions are technically suitable for which pathways?
   
   Telecoms equipment, appliances, batteries and circuit boards have different values, risks and treatment requirements and should not be managed as one uniform waste stream. Existing facilities could be mapped and strengthened, with activities allocated locally, nationally, regionally or internationally according to capability, safety and scale. Shared infrastructure is justified only where it addresses a demonstrated gap, has sufficient supply and adds value over direct links between existing operators.
5. Can products and materials move legally and reliably across borders?
   
   Regional specialisation depends on authorities distinguishing consistently between used equipment, repairable products, e-waste and prepared material fractions. Unclear documentation, inconsistent customs decisions and slow Basel Convention procedures increase costs, tie up working capital and encourage illicit pathways. Regional institutions have a practical role in aligning common classification, testing and documentation for defined products and routes while maintaining safeguards against illegal waste movements.
6. Is there genuine demand from third countries, and can African partners meet buyer requirements?
   
   For most countries outside of Africa, demand must be demonstrated before investment begins. In Europe, refiners and manufacturers will engage only where there is a clear commercial need and African partners can provide reliable volumes, quality, traceability and environmental safeguards. Engagement could begin with defined products, materials and companies to test buyer interest, requirements and pathway viability before investment. Staged improvements and shared testing or auditing services could help capable African operators meet these requirements to unlock buyers, finance, recognition or longer-term contracts.
7. Who pays for low-value and hazardous materials?
   
   Electronics contain valuable materials alongside contaminated plastics, broken displays, refrigerants, damaged batteries and other outputs that cost money to manage. A credible pathway must identify a responsible destination and source of finance for every significant output including low-value materials such as difficult-to-recycle plastics, rather than leaving liabilities with African operators, municipalities or communities. National EPR systems, treatment fees and purchasing agreements could cover these costs, supported where necessary by funded international routes to authorised specialist facilities.

Looking ahead: Africa’s circular electronics opportunity

Africa can retain more value from electronics by connecting its existing collection, repair, refurbishment and recycling activities with national, regional and trusted international capabilities. These ecosystems will succeed only where defined pathways have sufficient supply, competitive purchasing, protected repair value, capable operators, workable cross-border rules, committed buyers and funded treatment for hazardous residues. There is a significant opportunity to deepen collaboration with stakeholders in Africa, strengthen regional ecosystems, build on existing systems and develop pathways that are more effective, resilient and capable of retaining greater value locally.