As environmental degradation intensifies across Africa, climate innovators are increasingly shifting from advocacy and policy discussions to practical, market-driven solutions that address environmental challenges while creating economic opportunities.
For years, climate action has largely focused on policies, pledges and technological breakthroughs. Yet some of the continent’s most impactful solutions are emerging from an unexpected source: displaced entrepreneurs transforming lived experience into scalable businesses that tackle pressing environmental problems.
Through the Amahoro Coalition, refugee and forcibly displaced entrepreneurs are developing innovative ventures that address challenges ranging from plastic pollution and electronic waste to food insecurity and resource scarcity.
Their work is reshaping perceptions of displacement by demonstrating that communities on the frontline of climate disruption can also be powerful drivers of environmental innovation.
In Uganda, where more than 10 million metric tonnes of bananas are produced annually and roughly 80% of farming households cultivate the crop, vast quantities of banana stems are discarded after harvest because each plant fruits only once.
For Congolese refugee and Amahoro Fellow Didier Maliki, who is based in Uganda’s Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, those discarded stems represented an opportunity rather than waste.
After spending two years campaigning against plastic pollution, particularly from single-use plastic bags, Maliki realised that changing consumer behaviour required affordable and practical alternatives.
Through his enterprise, UBUCHANGE, he began converting discarded banana pseudostems into durable reusable bags known as Kikapo.
The process involves cutting and drying banana stems into raw fibre, softening the material with water and weaving it into reusable bags using natural colours tailored to customer preferences.
The innovation delivers both environmental and economic benefits. A single Kikapo bag can last up to five years, significantly reducing reliance on disposable plastics while creating livelihoods for refugee women.
Working alongside a team of 16 employees, Maliki has trained more than 200 refugee women in fibre extraction and bag production. More than 100 of them now earn income through the enterprise.
His success highlights a broader lesson in climate innovation: some of the most effective environmental solutions emerge when sustainability is linked to economic opportunity.
Food security presents another major climate challenge. According to projections, climate-related loss and damage costs across Africa could reach between $290 billion and $440 billion by 2080.
In Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, Amahoro Fellow Dominic Amanya is responding through climate-smart agriculture. Through Kakuma Social Agriventures, he employs techniques such as drip irrigation, shade-net farming and minimum tillage to cultivate tomatoes, onions, garlic, okra, spinach and other vegetables for both refugee and host-community markets.
Beyond boosting production, the approach prioritises efficient water use. Drip irrigation enables farming in water-scarce environments while conserving precious resources, offering a practical model for food security in a changing climate.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, Amahoro Coalition fellows are advancing circular economy solutions by tackling two of the country’s fastest-growing waste streams: electronic waste and plastic pollution.
In the city of Jos, entrepreneur Zang Luka is addressing the growing challenge of e-waste while helping expand access to clean energy. Nigeria generates more than 500,000 metric tonnes of electronic waste annually, making it one of Africa’s largest producers, according to the United Nations’ Global E-waste Monitor.
Through his company, Zang Global, discarded electronics are collected, dismantled and repurposed. Salvaged lithium-ion batteries are tested and rebuilt into power banks, chargers, USB cables and solar lamps. Plastic components are sent to recycling partners for processing into pallets, while unusable batteries are transformed into artwork.
The company now recovers approximately 30 tonnes of electronic waste every month and employs 127 displaced young people. In addition to reducing environmental contamination, the enterprise provides affordable clean-energy products and technology solutions for local communities.
Elsewhere in Nigeria, entrepreneur Agwu Kalu Ibe is tackling the country’s mounting plastic waste crisis. According to the World Bank, Nigeria generates an estimated 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, yet less than 10% is recycled.
Through his company, LevelUp Recyclers, Ibe processes up to 120 tonnes of plastic waste every month and has removed more than 50 tonnes of waste from the Wupa River in the Federal Capital Territory.
The enterprise works with communities across Abuja’s 16 displacement camps and employs 10 permanent staff, 52 part-time sorters and a network of more than 600 collectors who earn income by gathering recyclable plastic waste.
The coalition’s environmental innovations also extend to menstrual health products, an often-overlooked source of waste. A single disposable sanitary pad can contain up to 90% plastic, while an average user generates between 250 and 300 pounds of waste from disposable menstrual products over a lifetime.
Refugee entrepreneurs Tracy Yekhage of Nigeria and Nancy Nyaleso of Kenya are addressing this challenge through their enterprises, Menstrualdemy and Dignify.
Their businesses produce reusable sanitary pads made from bamboo fleece, cotton and highly absorbent materials, combined with a lightweight waterproof backing for leak protection. The products cost between 60% and 75% less than disposable alternatives over two years while significantly reducing environmental waste.
Their work demonstrates that the circular economy extends beyond industrial recycling and renewable energy to everyday consumer products that affect millions of people.
These ventures form part of a growing pipeline of climate innovators emerging through Amahoro Coalition’s private-sector ecosystem. As climate pressures continue to reshape livelihoods, food systems and economic opportunities across Africa, supporters say investment in displaced entrepreneurs will be critical to ensuring climate action remains locally led and reaches communities most affected by environmental disruption.
For governments, investors and development partners, the message is increasingly clear: resilience grows when people are empowered to innovate, build businesses and scale solutions that address both environmental and economic challenges.
Amahoro Coalition is an African-led initiative that brings together private-sector leaders, philanthropists and ecosystem partners to promote economic inclusion for refugees and other forcibly displaced persons across the continent.