Small-Scale Bio-Based Solutions and Circular Business Models Creating New Opportunities for Rural Africa

Rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa live with constant pressure from climate change, low soil fertility and limited income opportunities. At the same time, farms and villages generate large volumes of unused materials—cassava peels, groundnut husks, maize cobs, grasses and manure. These resources often end up burned or discarded, although they can serve as valuable inputs for animal feed, soil enhancers, cooking fuel and other useful products. Small-scale bio-based solutions showed that these materials can be transformed into products that support stronger livelihoods and more resilient agri-food systems.

Across Uganda, Ghana, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, several technologies were tested under real rural conditions within Bio4Africa project. Small-scale green biorefineries converted local grasses and legumes into presscake, protein concentrate and whey. These products were used to feed dairy cows, pigs, poultry and fish, demonstrating improvements in feed quality and availability. Slow pyrolysis systems constructed with local materials produced biochar applied to soils, used in water filtration, tested as cooking fuel and applied as an additive for biogas production. Hydrothermal carbonisation created hydrochar from difficult feedstocks, while pelletising and briquetting produced animal feed pellets and household fuels from residues such as cassava peels, rice husks and groundnut shells. Additional work explored bioplastics and biocomposites from cocoa pods and other local materials, widening the range of possible rural products.

Q-PLAN International supported this work from multiple angles: coordination support through the Project Management Office, innovation management and early strategic direction through market analysis, business modelling and business planning, ensuring that local communities could identify solutions that fit their conditions and capacities. Through our work, we guided local stakeholders and partners in identifying which technologies are feasible, which markets can be reached and how local communities can turn technical results into viable circular business opportunities.

To understand which solutions can realistically work in rural areas, business model development and validation was carried out with local communities, farmer groups and local entrepreneurs. The approach focused on practical questions:
What does it cost to run these technologies? Can farmers access enough feedstock? Who would buy the final products? Which combinations of products create the most stable income?

More than 390 community members and value chain actors were involved in designing and testing models that fit the reality of rural life, through workshops and surveys. The key tool that we used to explore these opportunities was the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (TLBMC Communities explored their options through three lenses:

• the economic dimension, which helped them understand costs, revenue opportunities and market fit;
• the environmental dimension, which captured reductions in open burning, improvements in soil quality and better use of local biomass;
• the social dimension, which highlighted new job opportunities, youth and women engagement, and stronger local collaboration.

These insights allowed each group to choose pathways that match their needs and available resources.

Capacity building further supported these efforts. Local enterprises participated in accelerator sessions, while national bootcamps trained participants in technology use, business development and circular bioeconomy practices. These activities strengthened local skills and created new confidence among community members to move from testing to real operation.

We were happy to support the final steps by developing the Exploitation and Sustainability Plan, contributing this way to rural actors turning pilot achievements into concrete pathways for economic, environmental and social resilience.