As the world marked World Environment Day 2026 under the theme “”Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future”, attention turned to policies, pledges and new technologies. Yet some of Africa’s most impactful climate solutions are not emerging from conference halls, boardrooms or research labs, but from displaced entrepreneurs transforming lived experience into innovation.
Across the continent, Amahoro Coalition fellows are building businesses that tackle issues ranging from toxic waste and plastic pollution to resource scarcity and food insecurity. Their work challenges conventional narratives around displacement, demonstrating that communities on the frontlines of climate disruption are also generating practical, scalable solutions. For governments, investors and development actors, the lesson is clear: resilience grows when people have the opportunity to innovate, build and solve problems at scale.
Turning banana waste into reusable bags
Few environmental challenges illustrate the potential of circular economies better than agricultural waste. Uganda produces more than 10 million metric tonnes of bananas annually by roughly 80% of farming households according to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Each plant fruits only once, leaving vast quantities of fibrous stems discarded after harvest. Where many saw waste, A Congolese refugee and Amahoro Fellow based in Uganda’s Kyaka II Refugee Settlement recognized a significant opportunity
After spending two years campaigning against plastic pollution, especially from discarded single-use plastic bags, Didier Maliki realized that consumers needed a practical alternative to single-use plastic bags, not just a push for behavioral change. Through his enterprise, UBUCHANGE, he began transforming discarded banana stems into durable reusable bags known as kikapo.
His organization has developed an innovative process that transforms discarded banana pseudostems into durable fibre. The pseudostems are cut and dried into raw fibre, softened with water, and then woven into bags using the natural colours as per customer preferences. The innovation delivers both environmental and economic value: a single Kikapo bag can last up to five years, reducing reliance on disposable plastics while creating income opportunities for refugee women in Uganda’s Kyaka II Refugee Settlement. Together with a team of sixteen employees, Maliki has trained 200 refugee women in fibre extraction and bag production, with more than 100 now earning income through the enterprise.
His story reflects a broader truth about climate innovation: some of the most effective solutions emerge when environmental necessity intersects with economic opportunity.
Growing food in the semi-arid
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If food waste management represents one side of Africa’s climate challenge, food security represents another, as the loss and damage costs in Africa due to climate change are projected to range between US$ 290 billion and US$ 440 billion by 2080.
In Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, Amahoro fellow, Dominic Amanya is demonstrating how agriculture can adapt. Through Kakuma Social Agriventures, he employs climate-smart techniques including drip irrigation, shade-net farming and minimum tillage to grow tomatoes, onions, garlic, okra, spinach and other vegetables for both refugee and host-community markets.
Beyond yield, this approach prioritizes water efficiency. Drip irrigation transforms water-constrained environments into productive farmland. As climate change threatens global food systems, this model provides a vital blueprint for resource conservation and food security.
Rebuilding e-waste into clean energy
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 Jos, entrepreneur Zang Luka is addressing two interconnected challenges: Nigeria generates more than 500,000 metric tons of e-waste annually, according to the UN’s fourth Global E-waste Monitor, making it one of Africa’s largest e-waste producers, while millions of households continue to face unreliable access to electricity.
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Through his company, Zang Global, discarded electronics are collected, dismantled and given a second life. Salvaged lithium-ion batteries are physically examined and voltage-tested with viable sound cells rebuilt into power banks, chargers, USB cables and solar lamps. The leftover plastics go to a recycling partner that melts and re-forms them into pallets, while spent batteries are repurposed into artwork.
The business now recovers approximately 30 tonnes of electronic waste every month and provides employment for 127 displaced young people, while also reducing environmental contamination and providing cleaner energy solutions and tech goods for local consumers.
At the same time, entrepreneur Agwu Kalu Ibe is tackling Nigeria’s plastic waste crisis. A world bank report shows that the country generates an estimated 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, yet less than a tenth is recycled, contributing to clogged waterways, ecosystem degradation and increased urban flooding.
Through his company LevelUp Recyclers, Ibe is processing up to 120 tonnes of plastic waste every month and removing more than 50 tonnes of waste from the Wupa River alone in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Today the enterprise partners with communities across Abuja’s 16 displacement camps, employing 10 permanent staff, 52 part-time sorters and a network of over 600 collectors who earn predictable income gathering the plastic the company processes.
Reusable answer to menstrual waste
Amahoro’s fellows are also demonstrating that it is time to expand the circular economy conversation beyond biofuels and plastic bags to include everyday consumer goods. Menstrual products are a case in point: a single disposable sanitary pad can contain up to 90% plastic with an average person generating 250–300 pounds of waste from single-use menstrual products alone over their lifetime.
Refugee entrepreneurs Tracy Yekhage of Nigeria and Nancy Nyaleso of Kenya are addressing this challenge through their enterprises, Menstrualdemy and Dignify, which produce reusable sanitary pads that cost 60–75% less than disposable alternatives over two years while significantly reducing environmental waste. Their pads combine bamboo fleece, cotton and an absorbent core with a thin, breathable lightweight plastic backing for leak protection, showcasing that sometimes reducing waste is as important as reusing it.
These ventures are part of a growing pipeline of climate and environmental innovators emerging through Amahoro Coalition’s private sector ecosystem. As climate pressures continue to reshape livelihoods, food systems and economic opportunity across the continent, it is imperative to invest and empower these displaced innovators to build and scale solutions that ensure that climate action is not only locally led, but also reaches those on the frontlines of environmental disruption.
