From e-waste to fashion, UK-Nigeria collaboration is accelerating the circular economy and sustainable construction

In 2024, Innovate UK Global Alliance Africa proved that innovation knows no borders. Spanning circular fashion, sustainable construction, and youth-led innovation, the programme’s Nigeria team, led by Joshua Adedeji, Country Lead – Global Alliance Africa, Nigeria, orchestrated a transformative year of collaboration that went beyond traditional partnerships. From e-waste recycling in Lagos to empowering young innovators in Ekiti State, these initiatives aren’t just talking about change, they are engineering it.

We’ve rounded up some of the highlights from a year of significant progress.

In February, Innovate UK hosted delegates from Nigeria to the UK on a circular economy knowledge exchange mission. The week-long visit focused on sustainable construction and circular fashion and included site visits, a sustainable construction networking event, workshops, and a UK-Africa showcase session.

The sustainable construction delegation visited the Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Mineral-based Construction Materials team at University College London, ARUP, BRE, Agile homes, ReLondon and the Toureen Group. Meanwhile, the circular fashion delegation visited De Montfort University in Leicester and the Manchester Fashion Institute, exploring cutting-edge technologies for slow fashion, and the use of AI for end-of-life textile waste sorting and recycling. The trip came to a close with the Redefining Sustainable Innovations: the Circular Economy Exchange event in Birmingham, hosted by Innovate UK.

Promoting sustainable practices in Nigeria’s fashion industry was a theme of the year, and in May Global Alliance Africa launched a trailblazing initiative. The UK-Nigeria Circular Fashion Global Innovation Network was set up to catalyse a revolutionary transformation by adopting circular fashion principles and innovations. The network has established a collaborative environment where innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors from the UK and Nigeria can work together to drive forward sustainable solutions in one of Africa’s most dynamic fashion sectors.

As part of the initiative, Global Alliance Africa is funding up to £120,000 for three UK-Nigeria collaborative pilot projects towards adopting circular fashion business models across Nigeria.

Constructing the way forward

Advancing innovation in sustainable construction was also a key project in 2024. In July, a five-day delegation featuring three UK-based sustainable construction companies was centred around the Future Cities Africa Green Building Summit in Lagos.

Organised by the UK-Nigeria Sustainable Construction Global Innovation Network, which was launched in December 2023 by Global Alliance Africa, the network’s goal is to foster a bilateral UK-Nigeria collaboration to create opportunities for UK businesses in the Nigerian market and to drive a sustainable and fundamental shift in the construction industry.

Innovating the way forward

Innovate UK Global Alliance Africa was launched to build new and stronger UK-African partnerships to maximise the creation of inclusive market access, funding and investment opportunities through innovation knowledge transfer between the UK, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Creating an environment and culture that fosters and supports innovation is central to the partnership’s success and, in 2024, there were two major innovation programmes.

In November, we announced the five winners of the Ekiti Young Innovators Programme (YIP), celebrating transformative solutions to local and global sustainability challenges. A cornerstone of the Place-Based Innovation (PBI) intervention in Ekiti State, southwestern Nigeria, YIP is supported by Global Alliance Africa and the Ministry of Innovation Science and Digital Economy.

There were over 360 applications, presenting solutions across clean energy, circular economies, and clean-tech solutions. The five winners had designed projects that provided solutions for the following: smarter resource management; eco-friendly waste management; the gaps in health and education; transforming waste into sustainable building materials; streamlining last-mile delivery. All winners received a prize and support to accelerate their projects, as well as access to mentorship, training, and startup capital to scale their innovations.

Additionally, in October, Global Alliance Africa supported Berger Paints Nigeria with their Open Innovation challenge to identify innovations for recycling waste plastic into resin for paint production in the country. Plastic waste is a significant challenge in Nigeria, where it pollutes both urban and rural areas, causes fires in landfills and blocks drainage, which causes flooding.

Targeting innovators from sectors such as chemistry, biotechnology, and recycling, the Berger Paints Nigeria challenge invited successful applicants to pitch their solutions to Berger Paints Nigeria.

Collaborating the way forward

In December, the Innovate UK Business Connect team welcomed Professor Charlotte Watts at Hinckley Recycling, a Global Alliance Africa partner.

Professor Watts is the Chief Scientific Adviser at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and her visit underscored the importance of the UK’s collaboration with Nigeria. Hinckley Recycling, in Lagos, is the first e-waste recycler in Nigeria, a country that processes over half a million discarded electronics every year. Through the support of Innovate UK, Hinckley Recycling is exploring groundbreaking solutions for second-life battery packs.

As we look ahead to 2025, advancing the circular economy remains firmly on the table. By encouraging innovation and collaboration, we can build a more inclusive and sustainable world for all.

We’d like to thank all of our partners, collaborators and peers across Nigeria and the UK for a wonderful 2024, and we wish you all the best for 2025.

About Global Alliance Africa

Innovate UK’s Global Alliance Africa project is a six-year UK International Development project funded by GCRF and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).