Scaling up investment in Nigeria’s circular economy needs a holistic national policy and technology transfer among other things, according to the environment and sustainability experts.
This was discussed at the Circular Economy Investments & Business in Nigeria Confab. The confab on Wednesday was hosted by Bio and Circular Program Finland, Business Finland.
“For the circular economy to work, there must be some policy agenda from a national level supporting it,” said, Emmanuel Etaderhi, Executive Secretary, Financial Centre for Sustainability (FC4S), Lagos.
He said that one of the ways Nigeria can be climate resilient, and achieve a sustainable economy that is inclusive and prosperous, is to embed the concept and principles of circularity.
“What we need also is a transfer of technology,” he said. “This is the most important part.”
Ibukun Faluyi, E-waste Producer Responsibility of Nigeria (EPRON), said that lack of technology is hindering the progress of circularity in the country.
“On contamination, a lot of recyclers in Nigeria take components abroad for treatment because the facilities are not here in the country.
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“So, we need to bring down so much technology to help with full adoption and acceleration of circularity in the country,” she said.
A circular economy is a production and consumption model that involves reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible.
Bankole Oloruntoba, CEO, Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC) said that we can see the impact of climate change over the years on the country and the world.
“From the flood, to buildings, jobs, finances, and how our whole economy,” he said. “Climate change is real.”
The CEO in an interview further called for the collaboration between the government and the private sector in tapping into the opportunities offered by the circular economy.
He said: “The government needs to put up functional policies, with the private sector allocating finances.
“Also, with the development sector supporting advocacies, and academia teaching with new knowledge and research,” he said. “A huge opportunity awaits us as the circular economy will be in a larger scale from 2023.”
In addition, Bankole called on the FG to continue with creating an enabling business environment for investment attraction and sustainability.
Business Finland is the Finnish government organization for innovation funding and trade, travel and investment promotion.
As part of the Team Finland network, Business Finland’s over 700 experts work in over 40 offices globally and in 16 regional offices around Finland.
