New report from Climate KIC reveals how two megacities built circular economy programmes that reduced waste, supported informal workers, and created lasting systemic change.
Brussels / Bengaluru / Nairobi, June 2026 Climate KIC, GrowthAfrica, and SecondMuse today published findings from Phase 1 of the Circular Economy Innovation Cluster (CEIC) programme, a three-year initiative in Bengaluru and Nairobi funded by the IKEA Foundation. The report sets out what it takes to shift urban economies away from linear, waste-making-waste-recycling models towards less waste generation in the first place.
Across both cities, the programme supported 52 innovative small business ventures, engaged over 312 stakeholders, facilitated 144 collaborations, and supported more than 1,550 informal waste workers. The enterprises it supported contributed to a combined potential of 218kt of avoided greenhouse gas emissions per year.
The report, Driving Circular Economy Innovation in India and Kenya, highlights key learnings, such as the challenges of building trust with investors and policymakers beyond the project’s initial assumptions, that public awareness of circular economy remains a key barrier but it is hard to tackle at scale, and that even the most promising ventures struggle to access capital that meets their needs. It also highlights what really worked; deep market and audience analysis can enable a successful refocusing of efforts, catalytic grants paired with hands-on mentorship can drive deeper business change, and connecting people from industries who rarely occupy the same room can stimulate radical collaborations.
Example business success stories highlight this approach;
- Nairobi, Kenya
- In Nairobi, linkages between ventures such as PurePlant and Crofts have led to product testing, certifications, reduced waste and improved operations. Pureplant produces biochar (an organic fertiliser) using discarded agricultural waste such as rice husks. Crofts manufactures avocado oil using rejected avocados. A collaboration between the two companies, facilitated by CEIC, enabled PurePlant to trial its biochar on Crofts’ 200-acre farm, improving product testing and helping PurePlant to secure Kenya Bureau of Standards certification.
- Bengaluru, India
- iRefill is a company developing product dispensing systems who initially targeted large consumer brands. Through the programme’s circularity impact assessment, iRefill recognised the market wasn’t there yet for their product, and pivoted to wholesalers and retailers instead, resulting in successful dispenser installations in Bengaluru and Indore at the wholesaler/retailer level in the supply chain.
Key findings include:
The baseline assessments in both cities revealed a significant gap in solutions that prevent waste at the design or production stage, and a strong focus on plastic over other waste streams. The programme focus was shifted to underserved waste sectors, including organic, electronic, textile and construction waste, as well as to support innovations that tackle waste generation.
“We learned that these cities still see circularity mainly as a problem of recyling and managing waste”, said Carla Alvial Palavicino from Climate KIC’s entrepreneurship team. “We focused instead on the question ‘how do you stop waste entering the system in the first place?’”
The programme has been implemented with learning at its core – supported by Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) to inform quick adaptation and responsiveness. Outcome harvesting, social network analysis, and regular sensemaking sessions enabled the teams to adapt as they went, for example; bringing specialist expertise in-house about social inclusion in Nairobi, and pivoting support in Bengaluru towards bigger businesses who were already engaging with informal workers.
The Circular Venture Blueprint an open-source guide for entrepreneurship support organisations co-created with 14 organisations across both cities, has already been downloaded more than 8,500 times.
A second phase running until March 2027 will deepen local ownership, bringing together consortiums of local partners with complementary skills, knowledge and networks in each city to carry the work forward after the programme ends.
The evaluation and report were developed by IOD PARC, an independent evaluation consultancy specialising in international development.
About Climate KIC: Climate KIC is Europe’s largest climate innovation agency and community. We orchestrate systems change at pace and scale, connecting entrepreneurs, governments, investors, and communities to bridge the gap between climate commitments and reality.
About International Council for Circular Economy (ICCE): ICCE is India’s premier think-tank working since 2020 to promote Circularity through policy and advocacy. We work with governments, industry, MSMEs, start-ups, CSOs, and consumers to promote regeneration and green circular transition.