Fostering South-South Cooperation: A Learning Exchange on Circular Economy in Addis Ababa
The Natural Resources Stewardship (NatuReS II) Programme was honoured to play a key role in the learning exchange visit of a Sierra Leone delegation on Circular Economy & Solid Waste Management to Addis Ababa. The pivotal event aimed at building a sustainable future through collaboration, fostering knowledge transfer on Ethiopia’s pioneering approaches to the circular economy and sustainable solid waste management. The programme provided actionable insights for the participating Sierra Leonean institutions, incl. local government and NGOs.
Exchange on stewardship partnerships for a Circular Economy
A cornerstone of the week was the knowledge-sharing workshop held on October 14, 2025, in Addis Ababa. Organised by PETCO Ethiopia, a producer responsibility organisation promoting a circular transition, the event convened a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders, including members of the Partnership for Circular Value Chains. Mr James Njeru, Implementation Manager for NatuReS Ethiopia, contributed as a panellist. He emphasised the critical role of stewardship partnerships in bringing about inclusive and sustainable change in the Circular Economy and waste management arena.
The engagement deepened on October 15, when we had the pleasure of hosting the delegation at our office for a deep dive into the NatuReS approach and our Natural Resources Risk and Action Framework (NRAF). Working across countries and in different settings from catchments to cities and industrial parks, this approach has developed over time and proven to be adaptable also beyond NatuReS. As a regional programme, learning from others’ experiences and replicating successful approaches is a core value of our work and enables us to tackle shared challenges more effectively. Thus, it was a great opportunity to share best practices, success stories, and transparently discuss the standing challenges in the sector with the Sierra Leonean colleagues.
South-South cooperation between Ethiopia and Sierra Leone
This learning exchange was a powerful example of leveraging Ethiopia’s tested approaches to accelerate Sierra Leone’s journey in building robust circular economy frameworks. The expected outcomes are to strengthen institutional partnerships and support the development of adaptation strategies tailored to Sierra Leone’s context. We extend our sincere thanks to PETCO Ethiopia for spearheading this initiative and hosting the high-level delegation.
