Developing a bioeconomy in Africa could drive nature-positive economic growth

The water hyacinth, the world’s worst aquatic invasive weed, clogs rivers. But a new “bioeconomy” venture is looking at turning this unwelcome plant into biogas, packaging, fertiliser and thermal insulation. 

With modern technology and innovation, the mushroom’s mycelium (roots) composites could offer a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials and help address socio-economic and environmental problems in Africa. According to the Pys Org website: These versatile materials … are produced by harnessing the ability of fungi to grow by feeding on organic biomass — eliminating the need for high-end manufacturing processes.”

Ventures like these show the potential of a bioeconomy. Seventy percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is under the age of 30 and there are millions of young people with ideas and the potential to drive the economy in a new direction. 

The G20 Initiative on the Bioeconomy is one of the innovations of Brazil’s G20 Presidency and aims to position the bioeconomy as an enabler of social inclusion, decent and sustainable jobs, and realising climate and nature goals. The World Bioeconomy Forum estimates the total value of today’s global bioeconomy at $4 trillion. Estimates by Boston Consulting Group’s Henderson Institute (BHI) suggest its value could rise to $30 trillion by 2050.

There is no “one size fits all” definition of the bioeconomy. It ranges from the trading of biodiversity itself through to sustainable agriculture, fishing, forestry, aquaculture and eco-tourism and food and feed manufacturing, bio-based tech, products, bioenergy, biopharmaceuticals and nutriceuticals. The bioeconomy is distinct in that it fuses bio and tech, while including nature investment opportunities. With the G20 leadership moving to South Africa’s leadership in November, there is opportunity for Africa to champion greater investments into its bioeconomy.

We can categorise Africa’s bioeconomy in three ways. There are products for which there is already a market, usually where Africa is a lead or unique supplier. One such example is moringa, a tropical tree. Its seeds are a natural coagulant providing an economical solution for water purification. It also has industrial potential and can be used in the production of biodiesel, fertiliser and livestock feed.

Or wood processing, which could benefit from increased industrialisation and value addition, potentially contributing billions to the bioeconomy and creating millions of jobs. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the consultancy, Dalberg, the substitution of cement and steel building material with timber can decrease greenhouse gas emissions and create a more carbon-neutral construction sector in the continent. But extensive single species plantations could come at the expense of biodiversity. 

Another might be sisal, a plant extensively farmed in Kenya, Tanzania and Brazil that has been used for making marine ropes and rugs. Sisal, originally from Mexico, is now also used in car door panels and surfboards, showing the bioeconomy’s potential to diversify and enhance multiple value chains. The global sisal market is valued at $1.27 billion and is anticipated to surpass $1.97 billion by 2032.

There are goods for which there is insufficient demand or market, but Africa does have intrinsic competitiveness. In Kenya and Rwanda food waste is being turned into fertiliser and feed. These kinds of businesses can turn Africa into a green high-value processing and export hub, supporting pioneering and strategic businesses to develop nature-based industries. 

There is also potential in leveraging Africa’s biodiversity from niche wild foods. Think buchu and rooibos from South Africa and the shea tree from West Africa.

Achieving a sustainable bioeconomy will rely on integration into mainstream economic plans. Likewise, more research, development and innovation is needed to support sustainable use of bio-resources. This includes ensuring that biomaterials are biodegradable, and that important food crops are not used for biomaterials or bioenergy, nor that we reproduce damaging mass monoculture to produce biofuels and timber.

Realigning both public and private financial flows to nature-positive outcomes is needed. Scaling Africa’s bioeconomy requires not only policy and regulatory alignment and reform, but also an influx of capital for more technologically complex processes. 

This means bringing investors that recognise the economic opportunity, and the sustainable development imperative. This may yet reckon with the equity dimensions of a huge debt overhang, comparative tech advantage in the Global North and changing weather patterns as a result of global warming. All of this requires African countries to move quickly up the tech innovation curve to capitalise on the value of the bioeconomy.

James Irungu Mwangi is the founder and chief executive of Africa Climate Ventures and the founder of the Climate Action Platform – Africa. Simon Zadek is the co-chief executive of NatureFinance.