| dc.description.abstract | To address the challenge of mismanaged plastic waste in Nigeria, this research investigates the main research question ‘How can European actors financially support SMEs active in Nigeria’s plastic waste management as a means to aid in achieving the local sector’s sustainability transition?’. To answer this, a mixed-method approach was applied, including the review of the existing literature base, collecting insights from Nigerian SMEs through an online survey and conducting actor interviews with individuals working in SMEs, investors and further actors relevant to the topic. The approach of service regimes by Welie et al. (2018) was applied to uncover the various services underlying the complex system. Accordingly, Nigeria’s plastic waste management sector has shown to consist of several service regimes that are insufficiently aligned, hampering sustainability on the sectoral level. Thereby, the Nigerian government is not the most suitable actor to address this since the consequences of Nigeria’s oil-dependency negatively impact the governmental framework. Instead, SMEs were identified as promising potential actors of change. Their position in the sector enables them to create interlinkages across several services. If incentivized, those links can be used to increase the sector’s sustainability and keep plastics from being mismanaged while simultaneously supporting the prosperity of the informal sector, for example. Due to the consultation of employees and investors, challenges and opportunities related to that were identified. Based on the findings, recommendations for the design of financial instruments for development finance were derived. Besides supporting the chances for the SMEs’ long-term survival, the recommendations address aspects like offering a greater variety of financing instruments to the SMEs and better considering the local context. Great importance was also dedicated to increasing transparency which can also contribute to reduced corruption. Furthermore, mutual learning should enable entrepreneurs to develop skills relevant to the waste sector and the business. | |
