Africa spends billions of dollars every year importing paper — from notebooks and textbooks to toilet rolls and corrugated cartons. Over 80% of paper products used in Africa are sourced abroad, mostly from wood pulp. This heavy reliance not only strains foreign exchange reserves but also contributes to global deforestation.

Yet Africa is already sitting on an untapped, renewable paper resource: banana and plantain stems and leaves, which are rich in long cellulose fibers ideal for paper production. Instead of being discarded as waste, these materials can fuel a local, green printing and publishing industry.

The green gold economy envisions a continent where schools, offices, and industries are supplied with homegrown, banana-based paper products.

Why it matters: Lowers Africa’s 80% paper import dependence, provides affordable schoolbooks and printing paper.