Harare, (New Ziana) – The Geo Pomona Waste Management company is using the Africa Climate Summit 2 being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this week to pursue business opportunities to replicate its model in other countries on the continent.
A delegation led by executive chairman Dr Dilesh Nguwaya is currently attending the high level summit in Ethiopia which is running from Monday to Thursday where climate innovation, green energy, and sustainable urban development are top of the agenda.
In an interview with New Ziana on Tuesday, Geo Pomona public relations and marketing officer, Tatenda Mugabe, said the summit had opened important doors for the company to collaborate with regional governments, private investors, and development agencies. “We are actively engaging with other African cities and governments to share our expertise and explore the replication of our waste to energy model,” he said.
Mugabe noted that the platform is an opportunity for Geo Pomona to explore regional collaborations, share expertise and scale its waste to energy model across Africa. “We had the honour of touring the Reppie Waste to Energy Project located to the southwest of Addis Ababa, and we identified several possible areas of collaboration,” he said.
He explained that the vision of Geo Pomona is rooted in creating scalable circular economy solutions that transform urban waste into a clean energy resource, while also creating green jobs and improving public health.
“Our focus is on regional knowledge exchange, capacity building, and forming partnerships that adapt the model to local contexts. By doing so, we aim to accelerate innovation that addresses waste challenges and contributes to climate resilience across Africa,” he said.
During the summit, Geo Pomona also visited the Koyefeche Wastewater Treatment Center, located southeast of Addis Ababa, where it held productive discussions in pursuit of new business opportunities.
While no formal Memorandam of Understanding (MOUs) were signed at the summit, Mugabe confirmed that the engagements were highly encouraging and laid the groundwork for future collaborations. “These discussions were extremely fruitful. They are key to technology transfer, attracting investment, and strengthening Zimbabwe’s position as a leader in sustainable urban transformation,” he said.
Looking ahead, Mugabe said regional blocs like the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) have a critical role to play in supporting climate focused companies.
“SADC and the AU can help by harmonizing regional policies, unlocking climate finance, and creating enabling markets for waste to energy and recycling innovations. Such support would accelerate cross border collaboration and help Africa achieve its vision of inclusive and resilient development,” he said.
Established in April 2022, the Geo Pomona project has turned a once uncontrolled dumpsite into a modern, secure and environmentally conscious waste to energy facility. The project is situated at what used to a municipal solid waste dumpsite, which was opened in 1998 but was shut down after three months following objections by the nearby Wingate Golf Club members.
It only resumed functioning as a dumpsite in 2001 on the understanding with garbage pickers who were tasked by the council to pick plastics and paper blown by the winds onto the greens of the Wingate Golf Club.
The dumpsite used to be plagued by landfill fires, with the most serious one taking place in 2020, which lasted two weeks while pollution plumes used to affect many residential areas including Mt Pleasant, Malborough, Mabelreign, Warren Park and far away Kuwadzana as well as the Pomona Army Barracks.
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