Ghana’s businesses don’t always need costly tech. How to build on what’s already been done

Across Africa, governments are promoting industrialisation while encouraging businesses to reduce waste and keep materials in use for longer.

Many manufacturers, however, especially the smaller ones, can’t afford the advanced technologies often associated with greener production.

This has created the impression that sustainability is a luxury only large, well-funded businesses can pay for.

We are researchers who help businesses build and manage supply chains.

Our recent study of manufacturing firms in Ghana suggests there’s another path to sustainability.

We collected data from 250 locally owned small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises.

We then built a model to examine how manufacturers can use what they already have and learn from others to become more sustainable without relying entirely on expensive new technologies.

Our findings are important for the circular economy.

This is about reducing waste and keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible through reuse, repair, recycling and re-manufacturing.

We found that manufacturers can reduce waste and be more competitive by: Learning from existing technologies.

This includes studying and taking apart competing foreign products to understand how they work.

Also, visiting competitors’ production facilities and learning from their reports.

Adapting what they learn to local needs.

Working more closely with suppliers, customers and other partners to access resources, share knowledge and solve problems together.