Kenya, Germany eye e-waste innovations at summit

Kenya is set to host the first Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Innovation Summit from September 16–18, 2025, at Strathmore Business School, Nairobi.

The forum is part of the Kenyan-German GreenTech Innovation Programme on WEEE (2024–2025). It is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection under its Export Initiative Environmental Protection and implemented by AHK Services Eastern Africa Ltd.

The programme is designed to strengthen Kenya’s e-waste sector through research, knowledge-sharing, and innovation.

The event will showcase informal sector models and lithium-ion battery reuse by Kenyan and German WEEE companies, as well as the announcement of the winners of the competition among recyclers in the use of a German recycling machine.

Kenya generates about 80,000 tonnes of WEEE annually, yet only two licensed facilities formally recycle a small fraction of this (around 240 and 135 tonnes per year each).

Most of the e-waste is managed by informal actors with limited equipment or disposed of without proper safeguards.

With the gazettment of the Extended Producer Responsibility regulations in November 2024, Kenya has become the first country in East Africa to make producers responsible for the full life cycle of their products, from creation to disposal. This is expected to expand take-back schemes, strengthen the role of Producer Responsibility Organisations, boost investment in recycling infrastructure.

For companies, it means stronger obligations, but also the chance to benefit from a rapidly growing circular economy sector, particularly in the field of electronic waste.

General Manager of AHK Services Eastern Africa Ltd Christian Engels said e-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in Kenya, and tackling it requires partnerships between private sector players and the State.

“Through our programme, we are linking German know-how and EPR experience with Kenyan innovation,“ said Engels.

Key speakers at the forum will include Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy Alexander Fierley, Nema Director Ayub Macharia, ICT Authority acting CEO Zilpher Owiti and Lea von Bressensdorf from Chambers for GreenTech among others.