1. Developing a Regional Bioeconomy Strategy
for Eastern Africa
Innovative technologies for African farmers: Improving smallholder productivity,28 Jan2020
Ivar Virgin, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)

2. Defining the Bioeconomy
The Global Bioeconomy Summit(GBS) 2018 defines the bioeconomy,
from a global perspective, as
“…the production, use and conservation of biological resources,
including knowledge, science, technology and innovation related, to
provide information, products, processes and services in all economic
sectors, in order to move towards a sustainable economy…. “

3. A central feature of a modern bioeconomy
Scientific research, new technologies and knowledge can be applied on
biological resources including agricultural and bioproduction systems
not only for the production of food, feed and fiber but also to an
increasingly wide range of bio industrial and value added products with
potential applications in many sectors, e.g. pharmaceuticals, industry,
chemicals, and energy

4. Global Drivers of the Bioeconomy
Increasingly seen as tool for promoting…..
• The circular economy - economic growth based on renawable resources
• Green growth- economic growth combined with ecological and social
sustainability
• a low carbon economy, mitigating climate change, replacing non-
renewable raw materials and energy sources, especially petrochemicals,
with renewable, bio based alternatives

5. Global Drivers of the Bioeconomy
The Bioscience revolution opens new possibilities
of adding value to primary produce and biowaste

6. Countries world-wide developing Bioeconomy strategies

7. 1998-2010 2010-Ongoing…
Investment over the period 1998-2021=40 MUSD
SEI has been part of bioeconomy development
in East Africa for a long time….

8. Both BIO-EARN and BioInnovate
true Bioeconomy programmes….

9. Key features of the BioInnovate Programme…..
….also core features of a modern bioeconomy in Eastern Africa.
The BioInnovate Africa Programme
• Adding value to primary produce
• Adding value to biowaste
• Optimising bioprocessing and the use of bioresources

10. BioInnovate is focused on 6 countries in Eastern Africa 10

11. The BiSEA project
Funded by the BioInnovate Africa Programme(Sida)
The Bisea project
Developing an Innovation-Led Bioeconomy Strategy for Eastern Africa
(BiSEA)
The BiSEA project partners are;
1. East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO) - Rwanda.
2. African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), Kenya
3. Scinnovent Center, Kenya.
4. Bio-Innovations Ltd, Uganda
5. Stockholm Environment Institute SEI – Africa Center, Kenya

12. Why a Regional Bioeconomy Strategy for
Eastern Africa
• Inspire and catalyze the development of national bioeconomy
strategies and subsequent policy development/interventions
• Harmonising, policies, regulations, standards
• Supporting a regional agenda for sharing resources, exchanging
experiences and stimulating regional trade

13. Some of the
challanges
• Population in Eastern Africa will increase
from 300 million to more than 850 million
by 2050
• The region under enormous pressure to
cater for the needs of this growing
population, whilst efficiently and sustainably
managing bioresources and the
environment
• Between 1988 and 2014, world agricultural
exports rose from $83.4 billion to $1532
billion while the agricultural exports from
countries in Sub Saharan Africa, dominated
by unprocessed agricultural products,
increased from $2.7 billion to $44.3 billion
As a result, SSA’s share of world agricultural
exports declined from 3.3 percent in 1988
to 2.9 percent in 2014

14. Bioresources used inefficiently in the region
-Low agricultural productivity….
-Large part of the bioresources in the region, under-researched,
underdeveloped and underutilised…..
…..but some part of biodiversity
overutilized, such as biomass
exploitation for charcoal production
leading to deforestation

15. Low degree of value addition
-Low degree of value addition to primary produce
-Bioprocessing sector not running in an optimal way, producing large amounts of
biowaste
-Converting biowaste into useful products...modernizing the agroindustrial sector
has a huge potential for East Africa

16. Expanding markets, increased capacity and
vast resources in favour for the region

17. Rough Content of the Strategy
• Defining the bioeconomy
• What the bioeconomy can bring to the region?
• Situational analysis
• Mission, scope, objectives
• Priorities of the strategy
• Creating an enabling structure for the bioeconomy
• Safeguarding Sustainability, Equity and Addressing Potential Conflicts of Interest
• Targets for Bioeconomy development
• Actions and Interventions for a sustainable regional Bioeconomy development in
Eastern Africa

18. What the bioeconomy can bring to the region?
Sustainable industrialisation, green growth and a circular economy, New models for biobased production
revitalising bioprocessing and biomass value chains in the region, (e.g, biorefineries, bioindustry)
Linking small scale farmers and bioentrepreneurs to market opportunities where improved value chains
and processing would support agricultural productivity and help diversifying and strengthening agriculture
and farming in the region
Support to Health sector, Providing new technologies for biobased health and medicines such as
development of vaccines, new drugs, health products, and disease diagnostic methodologies.
The creation of new biobased products and a biobased industry in support of job creation, inclusive
sustainable economic growth. This would include, for example, biomaterials for construction, bio-inputs
for agriculture,.
Creating new forms of clean energy, such as biofuels, for transportation and electricity generation from
waste and industrial by-products

19. Suggested Priorities
Agriculture and food security related priorities
-Improving agricultural productivity
-Value addition to food crops and livestock products
-Novel and functional food and feed products
-Functional food and food additives. e.g. food conditioners, nutraceuticals,
-Novel oil crops (edible, essential and industrial oils)
-Novel protein sources (insects, microalgae)
Bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizers, and biocontrol agents

20. Linking small scale farmers and bioentrepreneurs
to market opportunities
New value chain opportunities….…Good news for farmers…

21. Bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizers, and bio control agents

22. Suggested Priorities
Health related priorities-The health bioeconomy
Industrial and bioprocessing related priorities
-Bioplastics, bio-packaging and composite materials
-Industrial enzymes (e.g. for the leather& brewery industry)
-Industrial gums, vaxes, resins, oils, solvents and paints,
-Cosmetics, fragrances, detergents and soaps,
-Biobased construction and building material
-Fibres for the craft and textile industry
Sustainable energy related priorities
Environment and resource effectiveness related priorities
-Waste conversion and bioremediation-converting biowaste to useful products
-Ecotourism and the bioeconomy

23. Providing new technologies for biobased health and
medicines
Development of vaccines, new drugs, health products, and disease diagnostic
methodologies.
Through modern biosciences it is possible to use the biodiversity in the region to
develop novel cost effective biobased production systems for various
biopharmaceutical products

24. The creation of new biobased products in support of
job creation, inclusive sustainable economic growth.
For example, biomaterials for construction, enzymes for industry, biobased feedstock
to substitute products derived from petrochemicals (for example bioplastics) or to
satisfy new demands from consumers (e.g. cosmetics, fragrances, detergents, soaps).

25. Diversifying and strengthening agriculture and farming
in the region,
Improved value chains and processing would promote a more secure and resilient
food supply with enhanced agricultural productivity which is able to provide
sustainable, healthy, affordable and nutritious food for the region and for a global
market

26. Creating new forms of clean energy,
Biofuels, for transportation and electricity generation
from waste and industrial by-products

27. Converting biowaste to useful products
Biowaste converted into bioenergy, feed, biofertilisers etc making
more efficient use of biowaste and increasing value addition at agro
and bioprocessing plants and future bio-refineries

28. Creating an enabling structure for the bioeconomy
inception
Making an develpmnet Impact

29. Some of the Key Messages in The Strategy
• Improving value addition and bioprocessing of primary production
and biowaste
• Creating structures for commercialising and industrialising the
bioeconomy
• Creating market demand for product of a modern bioeconomy
• New mechanism for financing innovation and industrialisation of the
bioeconomy needed - access to capital, credit facilities, venture
capital and mechanism to share financial risks during the
innovation/industrialisation process is largely missing in the region

30. Thank you for listening
For more information please contact
ivar.virgin@sei.org