New Ventures

ACEN Foundation

Hello ACENers

To:?African Circular Economy Network?(ACEN) Chapter Leads, Country Representatives, Country Members, Organisational Members, Academic Members, Partners, Collaborators, Friends of ACEN and followers:

We are excited to announce a further evolution in the ACEN storyline.

For those of you have been with us since the very beginning some five years ago, you will remember that ACEN started as an idea between several of the founding members seeing a need to nurture Circular Economy across the continent.?From its humble beginnings as a Non-Profit Organisation, the immense support and membership growth required the organisation to rapidly evolve into a Non Profit Company in 2020.?Over this time ACEN has been run by a dedicated team of passionate volunteers.

ACEN has been fortunate to have made some incredible partnerships and collaborations.?In 2020, ACEN Country Experts along with members of the ACEN Executive Team co-authored reports for Kenya, Morocco and Rwanda with colleagues from?Trinomics, Adelphi and Cambridge Econometrics. Particular reference is made to the potential for the circular economy through greater co-operation between the European Union and Africa.

Through this partnership a new opportunity emerged for ACEN, in the form of a Foundation and the emergence of the?ACEN Foundation?(ACENF).

So what does this mean?

The coming together of these two organisations to form a Foundation plays to the strengths of each with a passion for implementing circular principles across the African continent. This collaboration will produce far more than would be possible by each organisation working separately.

What happens to ACEN?

We continue to do what we do best!?We continue to make those connections, build relationships and create a community of circular economy professionals in Africa. Both ACEN and the ACENF will work in parallel.

African Circular Economy Network (ACEN)

ACEN is a Pan-African non-profit network founded in 2016 with over 100 circular economy practitioners in 30 countries across the continent. The membership-based network brings together people from the private and public sector who have ambitions to accelerate the just transition to a circular economy in Africa through collaboration and knowledge sharing.

ACEN Foundation (ACENF)

The ACENF is a joint initiative between ACEN and Trinomics B.V. (a sustainability consultancy based in the Netherlands). The Foundation works across Africa to implement circular strategies and projects, enhance capacity amongst practitioners in the private and public sector, fundraise for the delivery of projects, and support entrepreneurs to develop unique circular business models.

The future?

ACEN membership will be contracted by the ACEN Foundation to develop a skills and expertise database to bring more opportunities to the ACEN membership. Watch this space for more details.

If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch with us at?[email protected]?(ACEN) or?[email protected]?(ACENF).

Looking forward to working with you in the future.

ACEN Executive Team.

If you would like to join ACEN as we work towards an inclusive transition to a circular economy in Africa, please see the?Membership Programme?options.