Our current food systems are broken. The way we produce and consume food depletes natural resources, generates copious waste, and contributes to biodiversity loss, climate change, poverty and inequality — issues that only exacerbate food insecurity.  

The Accelerating the Circular Economy for Food (ACE4Food) initiative will serve as a strategic investment vehicle that will drive the transition to a circular food economy through coordinated systems leadership. Powered by the success of Circular Food Systems for Rwanda (CIRF) and similar projects across the region, ACE4Food will bring together key pan-African stakeholders to create regional food systems transformation.

How Will ACE4Food Work?

ACE4Food is a consortium that both convenes key stakeholders and implements circularity solutions in the food sector. It will bring together committed organizations in food systems leadership to form a common mission; help standardize metrics; engage in knowledge sharing; and develop strong joint communications to design activities that build productively on one another.

By strengthening circularity efforts in Africa, ACE4Food will support efforts to:

  1. decrease food loss and waste;
  2. productively use existing food waste;
  3. encourage regenerative agriculture practices;
  4. and focus on the food-energy nexus.  

1. Systems Leadership

Currently, efforts to encourage circularity and sustainability are uncoordinated and disparate across the region.

ACE4Food solution: create a unified body of committed organizations to drive and align regional advances.

2. SME Acceleration

Small & Medium Enterprises do not have a strong understanding of circular business models and require tailored, technical support to become more cost and resource efficient.

ACE4Food solution: ensure the SME ecosystem is provided with hard-to-access technical assistance to create new circular products, jobs, cost-savings and revenue.

3. Policy Development

Circular policy development in the region is nascent, and understanding is generally low among policymakers.

ACE4Food solution: establish national and regional platforms for dialogue between public and private stakeholders to incorporate circularity into policy and identify and address barriers to circular progress.

4. Anchor Firm Engagement

Regional anchor firms are not being included in efforts to scale circular systems.

ACE4Food solution: engage influential firms to tie SME support to real gaps and opportunities, foster supply and demand for circular innovations, and refine our market.  

5. Innovative Finance

Finance is not currently informed well by the circular systems needs and opportunities of SMEs, policymakers and industry.

ACE4Food solution: ensure new finance instruments are developed, and lenders and capital-seeking SMEs are more informed on circularity.