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Regional Perspectives on Sustainable Chemistry Innovation and the Global Chemicals Outlook II: Understanding

Trends, Risks and Opportunities

Report on Regional Expert Workshop

Nairobi, 7 - 8 March 2018

Prepared by Dr. Jürgen Hannak (adelphi) and Melissa Allen (IFOK)

26.03.2018

Report on Regional Expert Workshop, Nairobi, 7 - 8 March 2018

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Overview

Summary 3

1. Introduction and context 4

2. Proceedings 6

Session 1 – Framework for chemicals management and sustainable chemistry

innovation in Africa 6

Session 2 – Global megatrends and industry sector trends in Africa: Risk and

opportunities for chemicals management and sustainable chemistry innovation 8

Overview of key sectoral findings 9

Session 3 – Shaping the future by advancing chemistry innovation: Actions in Africa 14

Overview of key sectoral findings 15

Session 4 – Chemicals Management in Africa: Enabling environment and key

concerns 17

3. Findings 18

Key points to draw from 18

Options for the way forward 18

4. Participants feedback 20

Annex 1 – Workshop agenda 21

Annex 2 – List of participants 22


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Summary

On 8 - 9 March 2018, the first of four expert-scoping regional stakeholder workshops took place in

Nairobi, Kenya. This initiative was part of a strategic partnership, in which ISC3 and UN Environment

examined the long-term perspectives and roles of sustainable chemistry. This first workshop brought

together a select group of specialists from the African regions, including innovators and entrepreneurs,

policy-makers and scientists, regional experts and futurologists from relevant stakeholder groups. Key

take-away lessons from this event include:

1. When examining issues pertaining to sustainable chemistry innovation in the African region, a

further differentiation by African sub-regions is essential.

2. There is substantial potential to draw from best practices within the African region. Effective cross-

border cooperation at the start-up level as well as transfer of know-how between non-

governmental and private sector players and facilitators (e.g. cross-border incubation) will require

addressing existing bureaucratic obstacles and complex procedures.

3. To address sustainable chemistry issues, specific strategies for engaging with and involving the

informal sector need to be considered. This also refers to tapping into and mainstreaming the

prevalent innovation potential in this sector.

4. Informed policy decision-making is limited by the availability or accessibility of data and

information. These have either not been compiled or are confined within various academic

research silos.

5. There are plenty of rather isolated initiatives within sustainable chemistry innovations; however,

knowledge exchange has been limited to date. This workshop was a welcome opportunity to

overcome this short-coming. Efforts to foster knowledge exchange need to focus on in-country

exchange (e.g. opening up knowledge silos, academic institutions opening up to industry and

other partners), intra-country/regional exchange of experiences as well as joint initiatives that look

beyond the African region. Many participants referred to opening up research and academic silos

and resorting to a more need- and application-oriented approach

6. Innovation cannot take place in isolation.

7. South Africa’s chemical management policy demonstrates both the importance and pitfalls of,

stakeholder consultations. They often require substantial effort and time, but are also a pre-

requisite for ensuring transparency (to enhance readiness for change) and buy-in from different

stakeholders. In this regard, the strong influence and negotiating power of industry sectors in

various African countries cannot be underestimated. Examples were named which demonstrate

that there are paths forward—including Gambia’s on plastic bags ban, Mali’s public private

partnerships in research and development, and South Africa’s policies on construction. These

examples demonstrate that to be effective, industry must have a sound understanding of the local

rules of the game and centers and dynamics of power.


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1. Introduction and context

Innovation is key to sustainable development. Sustainable chemistry, as a cross-cutting and

interdisciplinary concept, is one major driving force for innovation and provides new intelligent

solutions paired with diverse ecological, social and economic benefits. Sustainable chemistry is the

single largest opportunity to move entire supply chains towards circular economy models, avoiding

waste and making better use of natural resources. It is strongly interlinked to a broad range of topics

including, among others, renewable energy, climate change, sustainable cities, healthcare, agriculture,

and buildings and living.

As a new and independent organisation, the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre

(ISC3; www.isc3.org ) aims to accelerate the global breakthrough of sustainable chemistry by

promoting innovation, assessing processes and products and stimulating international debate on the

future of chemistry. As a first step into the debate, UN Environment and the ISC3 have joined together

to discuss global megatrends and regional perspectives on innovation, technology change and new

business models relevant for advancing the implementation of sustainable chemistry solutions

worldwide.

As part of this strategic partnership, ISC3 and UN Environment are organising a series of interactive

multi-stakeholder workshops in various regions. The objective of the partnership is to gain expert

insights from different actors on the future role of chemicals and chemistry considering important

factors such as global and regional megatrends, sustainable development needs, the potential of

disruptive technologies, innovative business models etc.

The workshops serve two purposes: the ISC3 intends to facilitate a scenario-building process on

shaping the transition towards more sustainable chemistry. Various inputs from different actors will be

carefully and holistically considered. The workshops provide a unique opportunity for a) civil society

representatives to voice expectations and concerns, b) industry representatives to refine strategies

and investments, c) policy-makers to gain insights on shaping effective policies, and d) academics to

further spur research.

This series of workshops is also contributing directly to the UN Environment’s second edition of the

Global Chemicals Outlook II (GCO-II). The results and contributions from all workshops will flow into a

collating overall picture illustrating what the future of sustainable chemistry can look like, and what role

chemicals and chemistry will play in addressing emerging and future challenges in implementing the

UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and its corresponding Sustainable Development Goals

(SDG´s). They will form the underlying foundation for international expert decisions at the GCO

Steering Committee Meeting— in June 2018—and provide significant input on how the issue of

sustainable chemistry and underlying mega-trends will merge into the next GCO-II.

The GCO-II is being prepared in response to the second session of the United Nations Environment

Assembly (UNEA) and will be globally released in early 2019. Designed to be forward-looking and

policy relevant, the GCO-II is expected to capture the state of scientific, management and policy

knowledge to support policymakers and stakeholders in their efforts to assess the implementation of

the 2020 SAICM goal and in deliberating on the sound management of chemicals and waste beyond

2020. Structured in four parts, the GCO-II will address relevant global and regional trends and

developments, review chemical management topics and instruments, identify enabling environments

and drivers of change, and provide options for implementing actions towards relevant SDGs.

The two-day regional expert workshop, held in Nairobi on 7 and 8 March 2018, was the first of four

regional workshops to examine Regional Perspectives on Sustainable Chemistry Innovation and the

Global Chemicals Outlook II: Understanding Trends, Risks and Opportunities. The first workshop

specifically focused on:

http://www.isc3.org/


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identifying regional and industry sector trends in Africa,

reviewing chemical management topics and instruments,

identifying enabling environment and drivers of change in Africa, and

reviewing options for implementing actions towards relevant Sustainable Development Goals

(SDG)

The results of this workshops and the following three regional workshops will serve as inputs for the

respective initiatives of GIZ ISC3 and UNEP/GCOII. In case of ISC3, the insights gained during the

workshops will form the basis for a scenario development process on sustainable chemistry with a

long-term perspective (by 2050). This scenario development process will, among other functions, help

to further define “sustainable chemistry” and its future role in shaping a sustainable world. For the

UNEP/GCOII, the workshop inputs will immediately contribute to preparing the second Global

Chemical Outlook (GCOII), which will officially launch in early 2019. The GCOII, in its chapters 3 and

4, will capture issues pertaining to innovation in the context of sound chemicals management by 2020

and beyond.

To prepare and implement these workshops as well as the preparation of the ISC3 scenario

development process, the GIZ ISC3 has engaged an external consulting consortium, consisting of

experts from the adelphi (www.adelphi.de) and IFOK (www.ifok.de).

http://www.adelphi.de/

http://www.ifok.de/


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2. Proceedings

The workshop was structured to provide a suitable platform and forum for participants from different

African countries to share their views, concerns and ideas in a relaxed environment. The approach

consisted of key note presentations, brainstorming/discussion in full plenary and in working groups,

moderated by an expert team from adelphi and IFOK (Dr. Jürgen Hannak and Melissa Allen).

To gather a wide variety of diverse views, participants representing policy-makers, research and

development, academic institutions, industry, start-ups, business intermediaries and non-

governmental organizations were invited to attend. The workshop brought together 23 participants

from Europe and the African region (Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa). Due to visa

issues, several invited participants had to cancel their attendance at the last moment.

The workshop started with a brief welcome and an introduction to ISC3 by Dr. Brigitta Meier, and to

UNEP/GCOII by Jost Dittkrist and Prof. Babajide Alo, outlining the respective roles and missions of the

two partners behind this series of workshops. This was followed by four sessions, for which details are

provided in the following sections.

Session 1 – Framework for chemicals management and sustainable chemistry

innovation in Africa

The purpose of this session was to collect regional perspectives and snapshots on chemical

management and innovation in Africa. The moderated brain storming session and discussion

particularly focused on the regional status and priorities for the sound management of chemicals and

waste until and beyond 2020, as well as collected regional snapshots of issues related to innovation to

advance sustainable chemistry. Workshop participants contributed several thoughts, ideas and

opinions on the overall topic, covering the following:

The participants agreed that there is currently little reflection on sound chemicals management in

Africa in global reports and that it is therefore difficult to obtain valuable data to compare between

different regions on the continent.

The lack of laboratories and professional equipment at both the regional and national level leads

to poor monitoring and evaluation, which causes poor visibility of pressing chemical issues at a

societal and policy-making level. The sciences are largely underrepresented in educational

institutions, as there is little awareness of issues regarding chemicals use or management.

Another complication is bridging capacities and human and financial resources between the

francophone and anglophone regions on the continent, which causes challenges in ensuring

valuable research translation and effective consumer outreach thereafter.

Research translation and consumer manuals are needed to demystify the use of chemicals (health

and personal care, cleaning products, crop protection, etc.) and to foster consumer awareness to

then call for accountability in the chemical industry.

Feeding into these challenges is also the challenge of limited governmental knowledge about

chemicals and chemicals management. Poor involvement and limited human and financial

resource capacity leads to a lack of government involvement in implementing and enforcing strong

regulations.

Another opinion expressed by participants was that the chemical industry and chemical-using

industries lack commitment to clarifying and informing employees and the broader public about the

use of chemicals and its effects and consequences.

Civil society and the work force lack awareness due to poor education and limited training. The

link between health and chemical use not only needs to be better communicated by policy-

makers, but also through (social) media with easy-to-understand messaging.


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The informal sector is poorly controlled and difficult to regulate. To successfully regulate the

overall chemicals management within the regions, it is necessary to closely incorporate the

informal sector (For example: DDT is banned from agricultural use but used in combating Malaria.

Within the informal sector DDT is still available for farmers due to affordable pricing).

With regard to sound chemicals management, the majority of participants agreed that is important

to closely incorporate the health sector. To avoid chemicals exposure or poisoning, a professional

and affordable disposal system for containers must be implemented by governments and the

chemical industry. Not only is there hardly a professional disposable system available within

industry, universities and its laboratories also struggle to dispose of synthetic and unused

chemicals in a proper way.

An increase of electronics use has also corresponded with an increase in e-waste, a challenge

that is currently difficult to manage. A functioning waste management or pollution control systems

is not yet in place.

To raise awareness and improve perceptions within society, industry and governments,

environmental education must be integrated in schools, universities and the media. Consumers

should not need to fear the consequences of chemicals misuse due to lack of regulation

enforcement by legal bodies and instruments. Broader transparency in chemicals management

and production must be implemented through professional institutions responsible for handling

chemicals issues.

Rapid change in chemicals inventions and use, in contrast to the slow process of implementing

regulations, is not only further challenged by porous borders, but also by the lack of globally

accepted standards for sustainable chemical use.

Key priorities beyond 2020 as identified:

1. Good governance

2. Gender equality

3. Consumer health protection

4. Environmental protection


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Session 2 – Global megatrends and industry sector trends in Africa: Risk and

opportunities for chemicals management and sustainable chemistry innovation

Starting the session, Dr. Jurgen Hannak (adelphi) presented the preliminary findings on global

megatrends as well as selected industry sector trends with relevance for chemicals management and

sustainable chemistry innovations, as compiled by the adelphi/IFOK team. Reflecting on the findings,

the participants discussed how the megatrends affect regional industry sectors and related chemical

use patterns, risks and opportunities for sustainable chemistry innovation.


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Different views prevailed on whether to: a) focus on specific (chemical intensive) industry sectors or b)

to look at specific value clusters (mostly aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and

the role of different industry sectors, further breaking down the assessment process to role and scope

of sustainable chemistry. For example: whether to focus on a specific chemical intensive sector such

as the food industry, agriculture, or to look into sustainable nutrition as a value cluster. As proposed by

the UNEP/GCOII representative, it was decided to focus on specific sectors (following the format used

in the Deloitte report, “End market alchemy - Expanding perspectives to drive growth in the global

chemical industry”, Oct. 2011), hereby considering the implications of overarching global and regional

megatrends.

Agriculture and construction were selected as two key sectors to discuss sound management of

chemicals and scope for sustainable chemistry innovation. Participants analysed trends, risks and

opportunities in two separate groups, hereby specifically discussing the following three questions:

(1) What are the potential impacts of relevant megatrends on the respective sectors?

(2) How will the expected trends in the industry sector affect chemicals production, use, disposal

and exposure?

(3) What are chemical-related opportunities (e.g. jobs, economic growth) and risks (health,

environment) associated with these trends?

At the end of the session, the two groups presented their findings in the plenum and considered

common findings.

Overview of key sectoral findings

Agriculture

The first step in breakout groups was to define a common understanding of agriculture for discussion.

For the agricultural sector, participants agreed to focus on the following definition:

“Managed land-use for cultivation including forestry.”

The participants also made the hierarchy of hazard control their focus during the discussion and

placed the diagram in the middle of their mind map. It was agreed that in the process of sound

chemicals management it is important to keep the following steps in mind:

1. Elimination of hazard is most effective when it comes to hazard control.

2. Substitution is also an effective step if elimination cannot be achieved. Therefore, the replacing a

hazard with a product/formulation/substance that is not a hazard has to be followed through.


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3. Engineering control helps isolate people/workforce from the hazard and decrease and/or eliminate

costs that might result from dealing with hazards.

4. Administrative control helps ensure the professional training of people/workforce to handle

hazards responsibly.

5. If the above steps cannot be followed through on, people/workforce need to be provided with

personal protective equipment (PPE) to be protected from the hazard or hazardous substances.

The main opportunities that were seen in chemicals use of the agricultural sector were: innovation in

low-toxic chemicals to substitute hazardous products; the targeted use of crop protection, especially in

large-scale farming; an increase in crop diversity that reintroduces the traditional African way of

farming; as well as genetically engineered crops and therefore, the decrease or elimination of

chemicals usage.

To implement on these identified opportunities, an extensive and continent-wide support of traditional

African farming practices would be needed, not only in execution but also to collect valuable scientific

data for comparison with conventional farming. Innovative technologies for organic and non-organic

pest control, especially for storage, would support food security in urban and rural areas. In rural

areas, innovation in food storage could also lead to a decrease in residue exposure within

economically disadvantaged communities. While urban areas are mainly provided with residue-

controlled agricultural produce through retailers and imports, the consumers in rural areas buy their

produce on local markets from local farmers that might not have the technology to control the residue

level on their produce and therefore, expose the consumers to high risk of poisoning. To avoid these

practices, farmers must be properly trained in either a traditional way of small-scale farms, or on high-

tech methods of residue control on large-scale farms. The implementation of standards through the

government is needed, as well as strict regulation of hazardous pesticides. Inventing new innovative

products and processes could also provide business opportunities. Due to significant changes in

climate, farmers give up their profession and move to urban areas to find work, often with more

dangerous work conditions (e.g. Nigeria: Farmers move to mining where they are exposed to highly-

hazardous substances).

Another topic identified was involving the informal sector. For example, DDT is banned for agricultural

use, but used to fight against Malaria. As such, DDT is still available for agriculture through the

informal sector and used for crop protection. This substance is not only a hazard to human beings, as

it causes an increase of early deaths and harm to public health, its use also causes weed resistance,

which then requires even stronger substances and products for crop protection. The challenges

identified by the group include climate change causing significant changes in pests – and as a result a

decrease in arable land –as well as a demographic shift. Small-scale farmers must migrate to find

arable land, creating a significant change in agricultural patterns. This refugee movement clashes and

coincides with a rising middle-class that prefers to consume organic agricultural produce and

increasingly demands meat. This leads to a decrease in population willing to work in agriculture and

an increase in large-scale monoculture farming, not only to provide the middle-class with premium

products, but also to produce feed for meat production. Innovations to tackling these movements

would involve increasing production while reducing risks and risk exposure, which can only be

advanced by financing research and development institutions and environmental permitting

regulations (EPR; formerly Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC)).


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Construction

The participants within the construction breakout group identified the increase of urbanisation as the

most impactful megatrend in the construction sector. Space availability is increasingly a challenge; as

people move from rural areas to the cities, “new deserts” are created with sparse population and

infrastructure. This leads to displacement of employment opportunities and possible environmental

and societal health risks. The formal construction sector is building premium houses, infrastructure

(roads, railroads etc.), drainage systems and commercial spaces.

The informal sector provides construction in slums and townships and their infrastructure. To avoid a

strong impact from the issues discussed above, the group agreed that new and innovative materials

are key. Newly designed houses using eco-friendly and non-hazardous materials could become a new

status symbol; they could provide multifunctional usage through urban gardens that could be used for

farming, and energy generation through roofs and walls. A supportive framework for implementation

would provide standards for recycled materials that can be used for constructing and formulating

building codes.


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Session 3 – Shaping the future by advancing chemistry innovation: Actions in

Africa

Building on the insights from the previous sessions, the purpose of this session was to further analyze

how to enhance the conditions for innovation to advance sustainable chemistry. In this regard, the

plenary and group work discussions during this session evolved around the following three questions:

What are key drivers which further innovation (in general and with regard to sustainable

chemistry)?

Which factors would need to be overcome/changed to drive innovation in the region?

Which measures will/would enable to facilitate innovation to happen or increase in the region?

In addition, the participants were invited to share examples of “best practices” and challenges from

their respective countries.

Following an introductory presentation by Dr. Jürgen Hannak, in which he outlined some aspects of

innovation systems and presented a comparative analysis of data on international and regional trends

in the application and filing of patents, Jaisheila Rajput (TOMA-Now, South Africa) and Prof. Edu

Inam, Nigeria) presented insights to enabling and impeding factors for innovation in their respective

countries.

TOMA-Now’s founder and CEO Jaisheila Rajput referred to innovation drivers and trends in South

Africa and specifically highlighted the role of incubators in the context of sustainable chemistry

innovation. The main role of TOMA-Now is to break up the silo attitude and thinking of research and

development and academic institutions by facilitating links between stakeholders (including industry).

From Jaisheila Rajput’s personal experience, there is a tendency that as scientists, one is pushed into

a certain corner or certain career paths, with the expectation to stick to one`s own field of experience.

In her view, scientist should connect other streams of science as well as acquire new sets of skills

(e.g. business, management, start-up), which itself would be an innovation. As a guiding principle,

research and development efforts must focus on addressing “real” needs/issues and questions to gain

wider acceptance. Based on experience from projects in South Africa and other countries, her team

has been involved in, special attention needs to be paid to location selection and defining the mandate

of such incubators. With regard to the possible cooperation and expansion of efforts to other countries

in Africa, she pointed out that for her organisations it had been easier to engage in initiatives in Asia

and America.

In reference to trends in applications and granting patents, a representative from Nigeria outlined the

practical obstacles based on his personal experiences in applying for a patent. Apart from procedural

hurdles and the time required (process still pending after three years), government and academic

institutions are either not in the position or willing to incentivise research and development initiatives.

The representative from Kenya pointed out that in his country the government has provided a budget

of 1 million USD only for research. Shortage of funds was commonly identified as a key obstacle for

innovation.

The scope of innovation is also limited by the availability of individuals engaging in research and

development. Experience shows that qualified scientist may be lured away by industry in their own

country or to assignments abroad. Supporting and ensuring full use of the innovation potential in one`s

country would also require establishing a framework which either helps limit “brain drain” or facilitates

bringing “brains into the country”.

Referring to the emerging trend of “Open source is the new culture”, there are indicators that also the

research and development set up is embracing the concept of sharing.

During the break-out groups, the participants re-visited a discussion on two selected sectors (see

session 2) to consider the following guiding questions:


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(1) What innovations (both readily available as well as disruptive technologies and business

models) have potential to shape a sustainable chemistry transformation and make trends in

the sector sustainable?

(2) What is needed to drive sustainability innovation forward, e.g. in terms of education,

information, collaboration?

(3) Where might innovation go in the wrong direction and how can this be prevented?

Overview of key sectoral findings

Agriculture

The session resumed where it ended on day 1 and focused on the topics of new class pesticide

development, targeted use and profitability of farming in more detail.

In the area of Information, Collaboration and Education, the group agreed that regional social cultures

need to be considered when it comes to innovation and that policy reforms must be implemented and

made widely known and transparent by the government.

The provision of infrastructure is needed to connect entire value chains and to bring small-scale

traditional farmers to the premium market.

Key points

Strong engagement of academics in agricultural development and innovation

Increase of health and ecological risks

There is a prevailing attitude of mistrust between academia, government and industry.

The benefit of individuals must stand behind the public solutions.

Construction

Approaching the key questions from a slightly different angle, the group focusing on construction

identified two major requirements for further consideration: (1) Incorporating multi-functionality into

designs and materials, (2) Using and selecting different/alternative materials (from those considered

having a negative impact at present).


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As possible selection criteria, the discussions narrowed down the following points:

Contribution to household emission management (particularly in high density areas)

Consideration of household waste as a localised source (e.g. energy, water, construction

material)

Scope for localisation of water, waste, and energy utilities and facilities

Ease of usability (in terms of skills required in setting, operation, etc.)

Impact on individual and public health

As far as the challenges are concerned, the group agreed that the following points would need to be

taken into consideration:

Actual user groups are marginalised

Data gaps undermine new ideas

“David vs Goliath” syndrome (=> large and economically strong players grab innovation, side-

lining local inventors, a question of protection of small innovators)

Reality requires compromises – the solutions which please everybody do) not (yet) exist

The session concluded with a discussion of common factors and lessons which could also be applied

to other (industrial) sectors. The participants arrived at several common issues and drivers for

furthering sustainable chemistry innovation:

1. Availability of a supportive policy framework and commitment from policy decision makers

2. Availability of an incentive and reward system to encourage innovators, start-ups and researchers

3. Transparency and stakeholder buy-in and integration/involvement

4. Tapping into and integrated local ideas and innovations

5. Provision of space and role for informal sector

6. Active stakeholder involvement and localisation of solutions.


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Session 4 – Chemicals Management in Africa: Enabling environment and key

concerns

With particular reference to the Global Chemical Outlook II as well as the ongoing work under the

Strategic Approach for International Chemicals Management (SAICM), Prof. Alo presented snapshots

of recent major regulatory developments relevant for sound chemicals management and innovation as

well as emerging policy issues (EPIs).

The plenary discussions reflected on the snapshots presented and related to possible information

gaps. For example, Ghana has made major headways by gazetting various regulations pertaining to e-

waste, banning 100% import of such wastes. Drawing from insights from adelphi`s ongoing work in e-

waste on behalf of EU and GIZ in Ghana, there are remaining loopholes yet to be filled, such as with

regard to import of second-hand electronic goods, that also should be reflected while assessing the

advancements in the regulatory frameworks.

It became obvious that while countries in the Southern, Western and Eastern parts of Africa were

already well represented in different institutional set-ups (for example Economic Community of West

African States - ECOWAS), a similar institutional reference was yet to be identified for the Northern

part of Africa. At the same time, it was also noted that no or only limited information on the regulatory

framework was forthcoming from a large number of African countries, despite specific agreed upon

reporting requirements under the international chemical conventions as well as agreements. Prof. Alo

believed that there were specific regulatory references in place but to a certain degree this remained

more or lessen hidden within other overall regulations. Hence, he appealed to the participants to keep

him informed of any new insights.

With regard to the EPIs as well as possible ways to further the agenda, the participants shared

examples on how they had successfully addressed EPIs (Gambia, South Africa, Nigerias, Senegal,

Mali) as well as provided ideas from other regions (Asia). With reference to elimination and use of

highly hazardous pesticides (HHP), the efforts of Ethiopia in propagating organic cotton production

was cited as a good example for establishing a “business case” by looking beyond specific

interventions and considering the corresponding value-chains. Amongst other factors, the availability

of home-grown organic cotton has helped Ethiopia to position itself as an upcoming textile/garment

manufacturing hub, driving investments in backward integration, enhancing in-country value addition in

garment industry and exports as well as increasing employment opportunities.


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3. Findings

Key points to draw from

When examining issues pertaining to innovation for sustainable chemistry in the African region, a

further differentiation by African sub-regions is essential, since the specific progress of development

as well as challenges significantly differ by sub regions and countries.

There is a huge potential to draw from best practices within the African region. Effective cross-border

cooperation at start-up level as well as transfer of know-how by non-government and private sector

players and facilitators (e.g. cross-border incubation) will require addressing existing bureaucratic

obstacles and complex procedures.

To address sustainable chemistry issues, specific strategies for engaging with and involving the

informal sector need to be considered. This also refers to tapping into and mainstreaming the

prevalent innovation potential in this sector.

At present, informed decision making for policy and decision is limited due to limited availability or

accessibility of data and information. These have either not been compiled or are confined within

various academic research silos.

There are plenty of rather isolated initiatives with regard to sustainable chemistry innovation; however,

knowledge exchange on these has been rather limited to date. In this respect, this workshop has been

a welcome opportunity to overcome this short-coming. The efforts on fostering knowledge exchange

need to focus on in-country (opening up the knowledge silos, academic institutions opening up to

industry and other partners), intra-country/regional exchange of experiences as well as joint initiatives

as well as looking beyond the African region. Many participants referred to opening up research and

academic silos. and resorting to a more need- and application oriented approach

There was general agreement that innovation cannot take place in isolation. The example of South

Africa formulating a chemical management policy showed the importance, but also the potential pitfalls

of stakeholder consultations. These require a lot of effort and time, but are a pre-requisite for ensuring

transparency (for enhancing change readiness) and buy-in from different stakeholders. The strong

influence and negotiating power of the industry sectors in the various African countries cannot be

underestimated. The examples of Gambia banning the use of plastic bags, Mali engaging in public

private partnerships in Rand, and South Africa construction demonstrated that there are ways forward,

but they require a good understanding of the local rules of the games and centres and dynamics of

power.

Options for the way forward

With regard to possible options and interventions areas to foster and drive innovation forward, the

suggestions identified during this workshop largely mirror and confirm the findings of a workshop

conducted in September 2017 in Berlin, Germany (ref. Advancing Entrepreneurship and Start-up

Initiatives for Sustainable Chemistry: Learning from Case Studies Sept. 2017).


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From idea to concept

Innovation culture in

universities

Research infrastructure

and partnerships

Intellectual property,

patents and licencing

From concept to market

Business planning and

access to finance

Upscaling, marketing and

commercialisation

Enabling environment /

effective regulation

Figure 1 – Innovation funnel

Referring to the example from Nigeria, companies (equal whether local or multi-nationals) are obliged

by law to reveal the extent of local technology inputs/integration. The Nigerian government aims at

propagating a strengthening of local innovations and research as well as increasing private sector

funding in RandD.

In neighbouring Mali, international mining companies have entered into public-private partnerships in

addressing technology, health and environmental issues.

Awareness raising and education of decision makers was considered as a crucial first step. This

needs to be done in combination with collection and analysis of date on economic as well as health

and environmental implications to ensure informed decision making at all levels.


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4. Participants feedback

Apart from vocalizing their appreciation for the well-organized and moderated workshop, the

participants highlighted following points:

This workshops has been a great and for many participants a first-time ever opportunity to

exchange ideas and knowledge at such a regional level. The intensive discussions during and

outside the proceedings provided a plethora of inspirations and new ideas.

It was considered helpful to realise that others face similar challenges, while at the same time

learn about possible proven ways to overcome these issues.

The structure and setting of the workshop as well as the moderation allowed for open discussions

and free flow of ideas throughout.

The participants benefitted from establishing new contacts and like-minded individuals. It may be

very helpful as a follow-up to this workshop to continue the exchange through a suitable

mechanism.

The need to look beyond one`s “knowledge silo” and seek active collaboration with other

stakeholders for furthering innovation, not only in sustainable chemistry. This was considred as a

key take home message by the majority of participants.

Involving more representatives from the industry would have been helpful to widen the

perspectives during the discussions.

From the perspective of an international start-up initiative, the meetings has helped to engaged

with possible future multipliers.

For the participants from outside the region, the discussions among and with the participants from

Africa was an eye-opener to the need for differentiation in approaches.


Prepared by

Annex 1 – Workshop agenda


Prepared by

Annex 2 – List of participants

Sl Country Surname First name Position/ Organisation Contact details

1 South Africa

Rajput Jaisheila Founder and CEO, TOMA-Now [email protected]

2 South Africa

Rother Andrea Professor Head - Environmental Health Division Deputy Director - Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research (CEOHR)

[email protected]

3 Nigeria Isanbor Chukwuemeka Dr. Department of Chemistry, University of Lagos

[email protected]

4 Nigeria Alo Babajide Prof. Director Centre for Environmental Human Resources Development, University of Lagos

[email protected]

5 Nigeria Inam Edu Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Director, International Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Research, University of Uyo

[email protected]

6 Nigeria Alayande Samson Oluwagbemiga

Department of Industrial Chemistry, The Technical University, Ibadan

[email protected]

7 Gambia Bongay Albert Joe S Executive Director, Young Volunteers for the Environment, IPEN National Focal Point,

[email protected] [email protected]

8 Mali Cisse Oumar [email protected]

9 Senegal Fagamou Sy [email protected]

10 Kenya Njino Judi Program Manager, Global Compact Kenya

[email protected]

11 Kenya Prof. Bary Abdouraman Regional Subprogramme Coordinator in the Africa Office

[email protected]

12 Kenya Goverse Tessa Senior Programme Officer, Coordinator ‘Chemicals, Waste and Air Quality Programme’, UN Environment

[email protected] [email protected]

13 Kenya Simiyu Soloman Maasai Mara University [email protected]

14 Kenya Ochieng Griffins Centre for Environment Justice and Development

[email protected]

15 Germany Leuschner Cornelia Federal Ministry of Environment (BMUB)

[email protected]

16 Germany Stolzenberg Hans Christian Department of Environment (UBA)

[email protected]

17 Germany Meier Brigitta GIZ ISC3 [email protected]

18 Germany Decker Nils DECHEMA [email protected]

19 Germany Hannak Jürgen adelphi [email protected]

20 Germany Allan Melissa IFOK [email protected]

21 Switzer-land

Dittkrist Jost UNEP GCOII [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



























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