In Tanzania, a glass manufacturer is producing reusable glass bottles that are refilled and returned to the market an average of 18 times. In Brazil, a major retailer is collecting cracked smartphones and old refrigerators through hundreds of collection points across the country, channeling electronic waste into formal recycling systems. In Türkiye, a textile manufacturer is transforming used clothing and textile waste into new yarns and fabrics.
These businesses are putting circular economy principles into practice: designing out waste, keeping resources in use longer, and recovering materials.
But new data suggests that private investment supporting these models remains heavily concentrated in a relatively small number of markets, with many emerging economies attracting little capital.
Here are five key takeaways from the new Circular Economy Investment Tracker (CEIT)—the first global tool mapping private investment flows across Electronics & Appliances, Packaging, and Textiles:
1. Circular economy investment is gaining momentum
Between 2018 and 2024, the CEIT captured $198 billion in private circular economy investment across Electronics & Appliances, Packaging, and Textiles. This figure is based on the 4,025 CEIT transactions with disclosed deal values; an additional 2,779 transactions are included in the CEIT count but did not have publicly available deal values. The scale of investment and number of transactions suggest that circular business models are attracting growing investor interest.
The headline number, however, only tells part of the story. While capital is flowing into the circular economy, it is not flowing evenly. A closer look at the data reveals that most investment is concentrated in a relatively small number of countries, leaving many emerging markets on the sidelines.
2. Most investment is bypassing emerging markets
Of the $198 billion tracked, only $14 billion—7 percent—reached low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), revealing a stark gap.
LMICs are home to the majority of the world’s circular economy workers, and a well-functioning circular economy could deliver significant benefits: job creation, reduced dependence on imported raw materials, and greater resilience to supply chain shocks. Despite this potential, these countries remain almost entirely on the periphery of circular economy finance in these three sectors.
3. A handful of countries received the majority of emerging market investment
Within LMICs, the investment picture is still uneven. Nearly 90 percent of LMIC-bound flows went to just five countries: China, India, Mexico, Thailand, and Türkiye.
The data suggests that circular economy investment is not yet scaling broadly across emerging markets, and it is clustering in countries with stronger industrial ecosystems, larger domestic markets, and more mature policy frameworks.
The concentration becomes even more apparent when looking at regional investment patterns.
4. Africa has yet to attract investment at scale
Despite examples like the reusable glass bottle model in Tanzania, Africa has yet to attract circular economy investment at scale. Africa captured a mere 0.2 percent of tracked investment. And the deals that did happen were small: 60 of the 89 transactions were $1 million or below.
Some of this reflects structural realities. Unlike the top LMIC recipients, which tended to have large manufacturing bases, Africa accounts for just 2 percent of world manufacturing value added. Institutional factors, including the strength of property rights protections and contract enforcement frameworks, also vary across the region and may influence the risk perception for investors.
5. Scaling investment will require bigger, more investable opportunities
Globally, 75 percent of CEIT transactions were $10 million or below. While smaller deals can drive meaningful impact, they often fall below the thresholds that institutional investors require to invest.
This creates a structural mismatch: there is appetite for circular economy investment in principle, but the deal sizes, risk profiles, and lack of standardized definitions make it difficult to mobilize capital at scale. Without aggregation mechanisms, blended finance structures, and clearer market standards, the circular economy will remain underfinanced in the places that need it most.
Why data matters
The findings point to a central challenge for the circular economy: capital is available, but it is not flowing evenly. While investment is beginning to scale in some markets, large parts of the developing world remain largely excluded from these flows.
Closing that gap will require more than financing. Investors need clearer definitions, stronger pipelines of investable opportunities, and better information about where circular economy markets are emerging.
The CEIT is one tool to help address that challenge. By showing where capital is—and isn't—flowing, it provides policymakers, investors, and development institutions with a clearer picture of the market and the barriers that continue to constrain its growth.
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