Green and Circular Innovation for Kenyan Companies
The Gecko Project - Developing circular industrial parks in Kenya
Aims to provide the scientific knowledge base to develop a national strategy for designing and projecting circular industrial parks in Kenya,
Special focus on investigating the potential and scope of ‘industrial symbiosis’ looking into both water, energy and materials.
Pilotcase in Ruaraka industrial area on the outskirts of Nairobi (Danida SSC target area)
The Gecko project feeds into the Danida Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC) program which currently targets green and circular industrialization in Kenya, in alignment with Kenyan policy targets.
Developed a circular screening tool and screened 26 mixed manufacturing companies in the Ruaraka industrial area on the outskirts of Nairobi.
The main output is 26 company green/circular screening reports, and a Hotspot Document with core data for all the companies
Analyses based on these data by the Gecko researchers and invited innovative Danish and Kenyan companies, upstarts and experts form the basis for the innovation and governance workshops.
The Gecko project is headed by Maj Munch Andersen, based at the University of Copenhagen.
The Gecko project combines business innovation research, technical feasibility studies, process systems engineering and LCA modelling of materials and water flows as well as policy studies.
Denmark
University of Copenhagen (ass. prof. Maj M: Andersen) and the
Technical University of Denmark (prof. Krist Gernaye, prof Lisbeth Ottosen, ass. Prof. Anders Damgaard) and
Kenya
University of Nairobi (prof. Nick Oguge),
Kenyatta University (senior researcher James Kilika), Kirdi (Kenyan Industrial Research Institute, Senior Researcher Kelvin Khisa). Additionally, the company Aquaporin and the Ruaraka business organization Rubicom, are important partners.
A range of Kenyan stakeholders participate via the Gecko advisory board.
26 out of 31 targeted companies mobilised and screened in depth (but varying quality), most sceptical companies 'turned around' but data protection concerns/distrust also prevails
Considerable interest and business potentials for circular innovations among the Ruaraka companies, many unexploited symbiosis recovery potentials.
Some cases: Bio-based industries have high potential for upcycling, e.g. turning organic waste into high value food (brewery spend grain into protein rich bread production) or Premier Foods fruit reject (mango, passion and tomato) peels and seeds could be upcycled into furniture or construction materials, textiles or new high value foods including insect based food (currently used for feed), or downcycled into ethanol, high grade manure or biogas.
Construction industries are important potential receivers of waste, e.g. plastic waste, and sand waste which is a big problem for the East African Foundry and Consol (glass production) can be applied among the three concrete producers in Ruaraka. This is also the case for the boiler ash from a number of the companies.
Further plastic waste upcycling, waste water and sludge recovery and more is still being investigated.
The Gecko workshops are important outputs of the project, in order to secure that the Gecko research findings are debated and implemented as much and as fast as possible among the Ruaraka companies as well as wider stakeholders, none the least policymakers and utilities.
We bring in companies and upstarts from Denmark and Kenya to speed up the implementation process.
Two back- to-back workshops are planned:
2 day GECKO Circular Innovation Workshop (tentative time: March 8 & 9th 2020). Venue: One of the Ruaraka companies
- The green and circular challenges and resource streams of the 26 Ruaraka case companies are pitched.
- Different circular solutions/innovations at the firm, interfirm and park level are suggested and debated by Gecko researchers and Danish and innovative companies and upstarts.
1 day GECKO Circular Policy Workshop (tentative time: March 10th).
- Creating a first shared understanding and vision of the circular economy and circular industrial parks in a Kenyan context across a range of Kenyan stakeholders. The members of the Gecko advisory board are core participants as well as wider Kenyan stakeholders.
- Highlighting and debating the governance challenges, pitfalls and perspectives from an industrial, environmental and planning policy perspective with Ruaraka as a case.
- Output: A set of policy suggestions and a roadmap for developing circular industrial parks in Kenya.
NB: We are seeking companies and upstarts in Denmark and Kenya who may have innovative circular solutions to offer in Ruaraka and who may wish to participate in the Gecko Circular Innovation Workshop.
Contact the project leader Maj Munch Anderse (mma@ign.ku.dk)
Funded by:
Danida funded research pilot project (Project No 17-M05-DTU, Green & circular innovation for Kenyan companies – GECKO)
Project: Green and Circular innovation for Kenyan Companies (Gecko)
Period: April 1 2018 - 31.12.2021 (delayed and prolonged a year by COVID 19)