Driving Circular Economy Innovation in India and Kenya

Bengaluru is the world's eighth-largest technology hub. The city has grown rapidly, but its waste management infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with this rapid growth. Current population of the city is more than 13 million and city generates more than 6,000 metric tonnes of waste everyday, equivalent to fill 5 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Most of today's support aimed at reducing this figure focuses on managing waste after it has already been created. Preventing waste at the source remains largely underfunded and overlooked.

Transitioning to circular economy principles, such as designing waste out of product lifecycles, keeping materials in use, and regenerating natural systems, offers a pathway to address the challenge of waste in Bengaluru and Nairobi. However, this transformation goes beyond the capacity of any single entity or group.

The Circular Economy Innovation Cluster (CEIC) program set out to tackle this challenge by catalyzing system-level transitions toward circular, low-waste urban economies. CEIC's ambition is to bring together diverse actors, such as start-ups, established businesses, government, researchers, investors and informal workers, to drive upstream innovation, develop viable circular business models and create more inclusive and sustainable local economies.

About CEIC Program

The Circular Economy Innovation Cluster (CEIC) is an initiative by Climate KIC, GrowthAfrica and SecondMuse and funded by IKEA Foundation. CEIC brings together entrepreneurs, businesses, government, and informal workers in Bengaluru, India and Nairobi, Kenya to drive circular innovation and create inclusive, sustainable local economies.