Unlocking Africa’s potential through bioeconomy innovation

A key highlight of the summit will be the launch of “The State of the Bioeconomy in Eastern Africa: 2024,” a report co-prepared by SEI, the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), and the BioInnovate Africa programme. Building on the first edition published in 2022, the 2024 report focuses on food security and sustainable agriculture – two vital areas for the region’s future. It provides insights into how the bioeconomy can contribute to these challenges and outlines the progress made under the East African Bioeconomy Strategy.

Why this report matters

The State of the Bioeconomy in Eastern Africa: 2024 is a roadmap for future action. While the 2022 report provided a broad overview of the bioeconomy’s potential, this new edition zooms in on practical applications – particularly how bioeconomy innovations can address food security and promote sustainable agriculture across the region.

The report highlights several key areas for action, including the need for greater investment in bioeconomic innovations, improved policy coherence, and stronger regional collaboration to ensure these efforts have lasting impact. It provides an in-depth analysis of the region’s bioeconomy progress while showcasing success stories from local innovators.

The report will be essential reading for governments, businesses, researchers and other stakeholders working to unlock the potential of the bioeconomy in Eastern Africa. SEI’s involvement ensures that these discussions remain grounded in sustainable development and local innovation, offering pathways for scalable and sustainable growth.

SEI’s role at the Global Bioeconomy Summit 2024

At GBS 2024, SEI will take a central role, with staff participating in plenary panels and co-organizing workshops on bioeconomy development in lower-income countries. These discussions will address how bioeconomic solutions can contribute to achieving sustainable development goals while tackling local challenges such as food insecurity, climate resilience and biodiversity loss.

SEI’s active participation in the summit reflects its long-standing engagement with the bioeconomy, particularly through initiatives like the BioInnovate Africa programme. This platform, which has grown into the largest bioeconomy innovation platform in Africa, focuses on adding value to biological resources, reducing biowaste and driving sustainable economic growth. Through these initiatives, SEI has helped shape policies and support innovations that are crucial for long-term sustainability.

The importance of the bioeconomy for sustainable development

Over the past two decades, the bioeconomy has gained global recognition for its transformative potential across diverse sectors. At its core, it harnesses biological resources, processes, and knowledge to create goods and services that promote sustainability, livelihoods and green economic growth. By leveraging breakthroughs in biology, the bioeconomy offers a pathway to protect and regenerate natural resources, opening up opportunities for local, regional and global development.

The bioeconomy plays a pivotal role in addressing pressing challenges such as adding value to bioresources, reducing and recycling biowaste, combating climate change, and halting biodiversity loss. It fosters job creation, secures livelihoods, and contributes to a more resilient and sustainable food supply.

Cross-sectoral by nature, the bioeconomy is dynamic and multi-faceted, with far-reaching benefits for economies, societies, and the environment. As a result, it is increasingly recognized as a vital driver in the transition to a sustainable and inclusive future.

SEI’s longstanding contribution to bioeconomy development

SEI’s contributions to the bioeconomy date back more than two decades, beginning with the Eastern Africa Regional Programme and Research Network for Biotechnology (BIO-EARN) in 1998. This collaborative effort helped countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda develop the foundations for modern bioeconomies by fostering bioscience innovations that address local needs.

Following the success of BIO-EARN, SEI supported the establishment of the BioInnovate Africa programme, which focuses on innovation, capacity building and product development. With support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), BioInnovate Africa has enabled the region to make significant progress in sustainable agriculture, food security and biowaste reduction.

In addition to its on-the-ground initiatives, SEI has been a key voice in global bioeconomy discussions. In 2017, SEI led the publication of Creating Sustainable Bioeconomies: The Bioscience Revolution in Europe and Africa, a comprehensive study that explored the potential for bioeconomy pathways to foster sustainability in both lower- and higher-income countries.

Join the conversation

The Global Bioeconomy Summit 2024 is a unique opportunity to engage with leaders in the bioeconomy field and explore how bioeconomic innovation can drive sustainable development. Follow SEI’s involvement at the summit and download The State of the Bioeconomy in Eastern Africa: 2024 to explore the region’s progress and learn more about the future opportunities for bioeconomic growth.