Projects

In Uganda, the coffee sector plays a major role in the national economy. It is the main source of income for an estimated 1.7 million smallholder families and a major contributor to gross domestic product and export earnings. Arabica coffee farming is seen as a promising opportunity to enhance the economic prosperity of the region and support its social stability. At Mount Rwenzori, however, the sustainability of the coffee value chain is in doubt because producing coffee is not profitable enough to guarantee economic security and provide decent livelihoods.

In South Africa, several traders, including supermarkets and food processing industries, have developed their own private quality and safety standards. Vegetable growers wishing to supply supermarkets, food processing industries and other high-value retail markets are expected to adopt the relevant standards and obtain independent certification.

Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy: the sector accounts for 25% of gross domestic product and 65% of the country’s total export earnings. Composed largely of small-scale production (75% of the total agriculture outputs), the sector faces structural deficits such as stagnant productivity, expensive farm inputs, poor storage facilities and weak market competition. 

Large- and small-scale horticulture is a key contributor to Kenya’s economy, but has a significant negative impact on the local environment, including through unsustainable water consumption and pollution from the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

Fuelled by the accelerated pace of digitalization and the rise of a global middle class, the market for electrical and electronic equipment is expanding rapidly, and with it the production of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste). In Ghana, the vast majority of e-waste is managed under poor environmental, health and safety conditions. Open burning of cables and manual disassembly of lead-acid batteries are still widely used practices, causing significant environmental pollution and damage to human health. 

The South African clay brick manufacturing sector is both a diverse and a geographically distributed industry that provides employment both in the organized, formal sector and in an informal sector mostly made up of brickmakers in rural, under-developed areas.

The goal of the project is to provide major opportunities for Ethiopian manufacturing industries in the “green” market segment to acquire a share of the light manufacturing market currently fleeing rising costs in China. This includes such industries as natural-fibre cotton, wool and silk manufacturing, human-made fibre manufacturing, garment manufacturing and the leather, organic food and handicraft industries. The project involves launching three pilot clusters to pave the way for green growth, increased sales and sustainable job creation.

In Ethiopia, tanning is an important economic activity. The country is home to the largest population of livestock in Africa and is the tenth largest livestock producer in the world in 2015. The livestock sector accounts for 16.5% of Ethiopia’s gross domestic product and is an important source of income for the rural population. 

The Government of Uganda, in its strategic development plan, Uganda Vision 2040, has recognized the tourism sector as the mainstay of the country’s transformation from a predominantly agrarian, lower-income society to a modern, prosperous and competitive upper middle-income one. The tourism industry accounted for 5.2% of gross domestic product and 14.6% of total employment in 2016. The sector currently faces the following challenges, however, which this project aims to overcome: 

Every year, more than 1.3 million tourists visit the island of Mauritius. In 2017, the tourism industry accounted for more than 12% of total gross domestic product and provided more than 30,000 direct jobs. The Mauritius Tourism Development Plan sets a target of acquiring “Green Destination” status for Mauritius by 2030. Promoting sustainable tourism that reduces tourism’s “footprint”, or negative environmental impacts, while improving its “handprint”, or positive sustainability impacts, especially for local communities, is key to green growth in Mauritius. 

There is a global trend towards increased consumer and tourist demand for socially and environmentally responsible products, particularly in eco-sensitive destinations such as Africa. In over-saturated safari tourism markets throughout the continent, there is rising competition among local brands and businesses to win market share.