AFRICAN CIRCULAR ECONOMY NETWORK NPC

Their core work

ACEN is a South African non-profit that operates at the intersection of circular economy policy, sustainability practice, and social justice — specifically representing the Global South perspective in what is otherwise a predominantly European research conversation. In practice, they contribute regional knowledge on sustainable supply chains, industrial ecology, and the equity dimensions of circular transitions: who bears the costs, who captures the benefits, and how gender shapes both. Their H2020 involvement positions them as a bridge between EU-funded sustainability science and African implementation realities, bringing field-level credibility that purely academic partners cannot replicate.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first project (ReTraCE, 2018) was grounded in the technical and economic mechanics of circular economy: supply chain design, industrial ecology, life cycle analysis, and sustainable business models — the engineering and management science side of sustainability. By their second project (JUST2CE, 2021), the keywords had shifted entirely to justice, gender, and responsibility — suggesting a deliberate repositioning toward the political economy of transitions rather than their technical design. This is a coherent and increasingly sought-after move: as the EU circular economy agenda matures, the harder questions about fairness and distribution are rising up the policy agenda, and ACEN appears to be tracking that shift from a uniquely African vantage point.

ACEN is moving toward becoming a specialist voice on the equity and justice dimensions of circular economy transitions, particularly as seen from Africa — a positioning that will grow in demand as EU Green Deal funding increasingly requires Global South engagement and justice-proofing.

How they like to work

ACEN has never coordinated an H2020 project — they join as partners or third parties, contributing specialist knowledge rather than leading administrative consortia. Despite only two projects, they have accumulated 38 unique consortium partners across 16 countries, which suggests they are placed into large, well-networked research consortia where their African perspective is a deliberate asset rather than an afterthought. For a prospective partner, this means ACEN is an accessible, additive collaborator who broadens geographic scope without requiring project management overhead from the coordinator.

Despite only two projects, ACEN has co-worked with 38 partners in 16 countries — an unusually wide network for an organization of this size, reflecting the large multi-partner consortia typical of MSCA-ITN and RIA funding schemes. Their network spans Europe and Africa, giving them a genuinely cross-continental footprint.

What sets them apart

ACEN appears to be one of very few African civil society organizations with direct participation in EU Horizon 2020 circular economy research — a distinction that makes them immediately valuable in any consortium that needs credible Global South representation, especially for projects touching on supply chains, resource extraction, or environmental impact in Africa. Their combination of circular economy expertise and environmental justice framing is rare: most circular economy actors focus on technical or business model innovation, while ACEN brings the equity lens that EU funders are increasingly requiring. For a consortium coordinator, partnering with ACEN signals genuine global reach and strengthens the societal impact narrative of the project.

Highlights from their portfolio

• JUST2CE
  The only project where ACEN received direct EC funding (EUR 182,500), and its focus on justice, gender, and environmental equity in circular economy transitions represents the sharpest articulation of what makes ACEN distinctive as a Global South partner.
• ReTraCE
  An MSCA Innovative Training Network — a highly competitive scheme — indicating that established European research groups valued ACEN's African perspective enough to include them in a doctoral-level research network on circular economy transition models.