African governments must turn sanitation crisis into a trillion-dollar green economy—Dr. Siaw Agyepong

Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, at the weekend urged African governments to urgently transform mounting sanitation challenges across the continent into massive business opportunities to create sustainable jobs, drive inclusive growth, and accelerate rapid development.

"Africa must transform sanitation problems into opportunities. The waste we see on our streets is not waste—it is wealth, it is jobs, it is energy, and it is raw material for industry," Dr. Siaw Agyepong stated in an interview with Modern Ghana News.

Dr. Siaw Agyepong stated that by investing decisively in waste-to-energy projects, Africa can take a giant step towards solving two critical challenges simultaneously—sanitation and energy security.

He indicated that refuse can fuel sustainable power generation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support the continent’s chronic energy needs, stressing that “waste-to-energy plants can provide baseload renewable energy for communities, reduce reliance on expensive fossil fuels, and help African nations meet their climate commitments under the Paris Agreement."

"This is how we build resilience. We clean our cities and we light our homes with the same intervention."

The celebrated African serial entrepreneur—renowned for his penchant for identifying business opportunities across diverse industries—called on African governments to explore the vast, untapped prospects in the sanitation and waste management economy as a catalyst for continental transformation.

Dr. Siaw Agyepong stressed that the sanitation sector alone offers huge, scalable job opportunities that can pragmatically absorb the continent's teeming youth unemployment and turn what has been seen as a problem into engines of opportunity and growth.

According to him, the linear model of take-make-dispose must be replaced with a circular economy model where waste is collected, sorted, recycled, composted, and converted into value.

“This model creates entire value chains—from collection and transportation to recycling plants, compost fertilizer production, and plastic manufacturing—each generating decent jobs for young people,” the Jospong Group Executive Chairman explained.

He noted that the Jospong Group has already initiated a strategic business development and market penetration strategy into the African terrain, which forms part of the broad objective of the Jospong Africa Expansion Project.

The project, he explained, is anchored on the vision to share experiences, leverage common strengths, and move the continent out of the poverty pit through south-south cooperation.

Dr. Siaw Agyepong restated that with over two decades of vast experience and expertise in integrated waste management, the Group is ready to join forces with African governments to transform the continent through strong public-private partnerships.

“We are ready to team up with central and local governments to enhance sustainable waste management, using innovative solutions to tackle sanitation challenges while creating economic opportunities for local communities,” Dr. Siaw Agyepong specified.

He clarified that the group's expansion into other African countries is not just about corporate growth; it’s about sharing experience, building local capacity, transferring technology, and supporting African-led development.

Dr. Siaw Agyepong also called for regional integration through deepening coordination and cooperation to boost intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“African governments must create investment opportunities that must be led by African business leaders, mainly private sector leadership, through coordinated empowerment, which must drive economic diplomacy and transformation.

“Effective waste management demands a united effort from African governments, businesses, and citizens alike. Recycling begins at home, and when combined with robust infrastructure and community engagement, it can transform the continent into a beacon of cleanliness and green growth. The journey towards a sustainable Africa is ongoing, but with visionary leadership and collective action, it is a future well within reach,” Dr. Siaw Agyepong stated.