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event PARI @ West Africa Bioeconomy Workshop held in Dakar, Senegal

The workshop discussed strategies for advancing the bioeconomy movement in West Africa to foster sustainable development and regional collaboration.

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“Towards A West African Regional Bioeconomy: The Contribution of Policy, Science,and Technology Innovations”, 4 September 2025, Dakar, Senegal

Co-hosted by AKADEMIYA2063, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE), and the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn (PARI)

A recent workshop highlighted the emergence of a dynamic and growing community committed to advancing the bioeconomy across West Africa and the continent. This momentum provides a critical foundation for strategic collaboration, policy development, and long-term investment in the region’s bioeconomy potential. While West Africa has lagged behind other African regions in formalizing its bioeconomy agenda, it also holds immense untapped potential, with rich biodiversity, a strong foundation of traditional knowledge, and an active research and innovation landscape. Now is a pivotal moment to translate this potential into action and leadership.

Central to the discussions was the need for a clear and coherent bioeconomy strategy at national, regional, and continental levels. Such a strategy would offer a structured framework to align vision with implementation, identify synergies and trade-offs, and guide policy coherence across sectors. Participants emphasized the importance of mutual learning, drawing insights from regional neighbors and international models. These diverse global approaches can offer valuable lessons for designing context-specific policies suited to West Africa’s unique assets and challenges.

To support this strategic process, three concrete initiatives were proposed:

  • Development of a Comprehensive Inventory of Bioeconomy Initiatives in West Africa to document a wide range of activities, including ongoing research, innovations, and indigenous knowledge systems, and to serve as a resource for mapping existing efforts, identifying gaps and opportunities, and fostering collaboration. By highlighting the region’s strengths, it will provide a foundation for evidence-based planning and help position West Africa within the global bioeconomy landscape.
  • Establishment of a Continental Database of Bioeconomy Actors and Experts to map stakeholders across countries and sectors, supporting integrated bioeconomy initiatives within West Africa and across the continent. It will also enhance the region’s representation at the Global Bioeconomy Summit (GBS) 2026, enabling knowledge sharing, joint project development, and strategic alignment among African actors.
  • Development of a Common African Vision for GBS 2026 to strengthen Africa’s collective voice on the global stage. This vision would unify regional perspectives, reflect Africa’s priorities and strengths, and position the continent as a proactive contributor to shaping the future of the global bioeconomy.

Participants recommended that stakeholders actively engage in a strategic, sustainability-focused process, rooted in local contexts and inclusive of diverse actors, including women, youth, and indigenous communities. This includes leveraging sustainable traditional knowledge systems, which are vital for creating resilient and culturally grounded bioeconomy solutions.

These efforts are further supported by growing political momentum for the bioeconomy at the global level. Recent milestones include the G20 Presidencies of Brazil and South Africa, the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) 2024 and 2025, the GBS 2024 hosted in Nairobi, and the launch of the Bioeconomy Financing Hub. Although the bioeconomy is not explicitly referenced in the CAADP Kampala Declaration, it is inherently cross-cutting and underpins all the Declaration’s commitment areas, from sustainable agriculture to climate resilience and circular economy.

The political momentum surrounding the bioeconomy globally and in Africa indicates that now is an opportune time for West Africa—and indeed for Africa as a whole—to step up, consolidate efforts, and harness the bioeconomy’s transformative opportunities for inclusive, sustainable, and locally driven development.

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