Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), through its Sustainable Inclusive Business Kenya center, recently celebrated the 10th Annual Circular Economy Conference & No Waste Festival a landmark event bringing together innovators, businesses, policymakers, and changemakers to rethink how we use, reuse, and regenerate resources.
Over the past decade, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) has transformed circular economy thinking from a concept into concrete action, driving sustainable business practices, fostering innovation, and shaping policies that support a resilient and inclusive economy. This year’s conference not only reflected on 10 years of progress but also set an ambitious vision for the future, emphasizing collaboration, innovation, and measurable impact.
The event convened over 500 participants to explore the opportunities and challenges of building a circular economy in Kenya. Discussions highlighted the importance of a unified national strategy to integrate circular practices across sectors from agriculture and manufacturing to tourism and waste management. The Principal Secretary for Environment & Climate Change emphasized the urgency of moving from a waste-first approach to designing systems that prevent waste and regenerate resources.
The conference also showcased the economic and social potential of circularity. KEPSA’s CEO, 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐤𝐢, emphasized that circular initiatives are not only environmentally responsible but also powerful drivers of innovation, business growth, and job creation. The Kenya Plastics Pact featured prominently, outlining bold targets: eliminating problematic plastics, ensuring 100% of packaging is reusable or recyclable, achieving a 40% recycling rate, and incorporating 15% recycled content by 2030.
Innovation and community engagement were at the heart of the No Waste Festival, with over 50 circular innovators presenting live demos, hands-on workshops, and opportunities for collaboration and investment. Key topics included regenerative tourism, sustainable textiles, organic waste valorization, and circular business models.
Beyond celebrating achievements, the conference set a vision for the next decade focusing on systems redesign, policy alignment, financing, and grassroots action to embed circularity as a foundation for Kenya’s economy.
KEPSA’s 10th annual conference reminds us that circularity is not just about managing waste it’s about creating regenerative economies, unlocking new value, and building resilience for generations to come. The next decade will be defined by how we reimagine resource flows, and KEPSA is leading the way.