Ethiopia Holds Circular Economy Hotspot 2025

Addis Ababa, October 2, 2025 (ENA) - The Ethiopia Circular Economy Hotspot Event 2025, designed to spotlight Ethiopia’s circular economy ambitions and inspire cross-sector collaboration, innovation, and investment, was held in Addis Ababa on Wednesday.  

A circular economy is a regenerative economic system designed to eliminate waste and pollution by keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible through reuse, repair, refurbishment, and recycling.

Opening the event, Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Director-General Lelise Neme said Ethiopia has launched its National Circular Economy Roadmap, a clear and ambitious blueprint for transition this year.

 

The roadmap is a product of extensive collaboration across government institutions, the private sector, and the civil society.

"It is our guiding document for embedding circularity into key sectors --- from agriculture and manufacturing to the built environment and digital technology."

However, the country's "commitment goes beyond policy. It is rooted in people and participation. A powerful demonstration of this is our ongoing national campaign: 'Clean Ethiopia: Stewardship to Culture.'"

According to her, the campaign has reached over 30 million citizens through face-to-face engagements and media platforms in just the last four months.

Housing and Urban Development State Minister, Helen Debebe, on her part, said Ethiopia’s Circular Economy is not just an environmental protection but also a strategic development opportunity.

 

“By emerging circularity, we will create new value chains, reduce dependency on imports, and unlock opportunities for both urban and rural communities over the coming years.”

Finland's Ambassador to Ethiopia, Sinikka Antila, emphasized the need for partnerships between the African Union, the European Union, Finland and Ethiopia to turn the circular economy from vision into reality.

 

"Together we can build economies that respect planetary boundaries, while offering prosperity and dignity for people," she said.

Finland, as a European Union member, has worked to align closely with this framework, while also pioneering in our own approaches, the Ambassador elaborated.

GIZ Component, Natural Resources Stewardship Program Manager, James Njeru, said the partnership with Ethiopia in the circular economy has been supporting the effort to develop a collective waste management system not only in Addis Ababa but also in other cities across the country. 

 

The partnership focuses on protecting natural resources, particularly water bodies’ pollution which brings job creation and value chains.