Zambian Circular Economy

Tandem Circular Consulting required an effective means of communicating the economic potential of the circular economy in Zambia to business leaders, policymakers, and investors, an audience that needed to understand both the scope of the opportunity and the specific material flows that underpin it. As part of a circular economy strategy report, the brief called for a single visual that could underpin the report’s core argument: that there is approximately $4.23 billion of largely untapped circular opportunity within Zambia’s existing economy.

The proposed solution is a circular flow diagram centred around a main donut chart depicting Zambia’s economy ($28.1 billion), with an outer ring illustrating the total circular economy opportunity. Colour-coded streams extend outward to six satellite nodes: Fertiliser, Biogas, Textiles, Mining, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), and Sanitation, each representing a distinct sector. The design needed to be effective on two levels: easily comprehensible for a boardroom presentation, and detailed enough for in-depth analysis. The circular format was a deliberate choice, reflecting the interconnected nature of the content; the diagram itself embodies the concept it aims to illustrate.