WHEN: 17 September 2026 I TIME: 14:00 - 16:00 IST (UTC+5:30) I Venue: TBC I Official WCEF website I Hyrbid event REGISTER HERE
Background
The transition to a circular economy is widely recognised as a major opportunity for business innovation, competitiveness, resource security and climate action. Across sectors and regions, companies are developing products, services and business models that reduce resource use, extend product lifetimes, recover value from materials, and create new forms of customer and community engagement. Many have proven technical feasibility and market potential — yet few succeed in scaling beyond pilot or niche markets. Access to finance is often cited as the main constraint, but experience shows that successful scale-up depends on a broader set of business features and entrepreneurial competencies. Circular businesses must build co-benefits to earn customer and investor confidence, while also meeting basic bankability requirements: reliable input and feedstock supply, off-take agreements, IP protection, risk management, market differentiation, and credible expansion plans. These factors are often as critical as capital itself.
Meanwhile, investor interest in circular economy opportunities is growing, but many businesses struggle to present investment-ready propositions, and investors often find it hard to assess circularity-related value creation, resilience and long-term growth potential. The challenge, then, is not only mobilising more finance, but helping circular businesses become investable and able to attract strategic partners, customers and investors — a priority increasingly relevant to initiatives such as the EU Global Gateway, which aims to mobilise sustainable investment and strengthen resilient, resource-efficient value chains across partner countries.
This session explores the practical journey from circular innovation to business growth and investment readiness. Drawing on real, lived business experiences, it will examine the decisions, partnerships, capabilities and strategies that help circular enterprises move from promising ideas to scalable, investable ventures, with particular focus on preparing for growth, securing customers and suppliers, building partnerships, managing risk, and attracting investment. Investors, technology providers, corporate partners and support organisations will reflect on these experiences and discuss how to help businesses overcome barriers to growth and investment. Building on experiences from India and other South and Southeast Asian countries, the session will generate lessons and recommendations relevant to circular businesses globally. It will also explore how businesses can engage investors, corporate partners, development finance institutions and international cooperation initiatives, including those under the EU's Global Gateway strategy, to accelerate the scale-up of circular solutions. In identifying the conditions for investment readiness and scalability, the session contributes to broader efforts to strengthen circular value chains, promote sustainable growth, and mobilise private-sector engagement in the circular economy transition.
Objectives
The session unfolds in three interconnected segments:
1. Business stories: from innovation to growth
Circular enterprises from different sectors and stages of development share short, non-promotional accounts of their journey toward commercialisation and market expansion. Each will briefly cover:
- Their business model and the value it creates
- Opportunities they see for future development
- Practical challenges faced in scaling operations and impact
- Steps taken to attract partners, access markets, secure investment and prepare for the next growth stage
- Where relevant, setbacks encountered on the path to financing
2. Interactive discussion: what drives investment readiness
Building on these experiences, an open discussion with the audience, businesses and invited stakeholders will explore the factors most critical to growth, resilience and investability, including:
- Securing feedstock and supply chains
- Establishing commercial partnerships and market access
- Managing operational and investment risk
- Leveraging innovation and technology
- Responding to investor expectations
The focus throughout remains on practical lessons and actionable insights.
3. Moderated panel: the investor and partner perspective
Representatives from financial institutions, investors, corporate partners, technology providers and business support organisations respond directly to the challenges raised earlier, rather than discussing the circular economy in the abstract. Key questions include:
- What makes circular enterprises attractive investment opportunities?
- Why do promising businesses often struggle to secure financing?
- How can partnerships reduce risk and strengthen business performance?
- What role can development finance institutions, international cooperation initiatives and mechanisms like the EU Global Gateway play in scaling circular business models?
4. Closing: opportunities for collaboration
The session concludes by identifying concrete areas where partnerships could unlock progress, including investment, technology transfer, supply-chain cooperation, market access, and technical assistance.
Expected outcomes
The session is expected to:
- Generate practical insights into how circular businesses can strengthen commercial viability, attract investment and partnerships, and scale sustainably, grounded in real business experiences.
- Build mutual understanding between business and investor perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of scaling circular solutions, securing partnerships and mobilising finance.
- Facilitate new connections between businesses, investors, technology providers, corporate partners and support organisations, identifying concrete opportunities for collaboration in investment, technology, market access and business support.
- Distil actionable lessons for businesses, investors and ecosystem actors seeking to accelerate circular business models, contributing to broader efforts to strengthen circular value chains and sustainable investment.
Why This Session Matters: Circular Opportunities Marketplace
Most circular economy discussions focus on policy and long-term ambitions. But businesses face more immediate questions — how to strengthen commercial viability, attract investment, build partnerships, access markets and prepare for their next growth stage. Investors and corporate partners, in turn, are seeking greater visibility of credible circular opportunities and a clearer understanding of what makes them succeed. This session bridges that gap. By grounding the discussion in real business experiences and practical challenges, it offers a concrete understanding of what it takes for circular businesses to become investable, resilient and commercially successful, positioning the circular economy not just as an environmental imperative, but as a growing space for innovation, entrepreneurship and investment.
The session is also designed to create value beyond the discussion itself:
- Participating businesses can share specific partnership opportunities and needs through WCEF's digital engagement platform and Accelerator Days — including investment, technology partnerships, supply-chain cooperation, market access, technical assistance or support for expansion.
- By connecting businesses with investors, technology providers, corporate partners and support organisations, the session acts as a practical mechanism for generating new partnerships.
- Participants leave with concrete connections, not just insights, to support future collaboration and investment.
In this way, the session contributes to broader efforts to strengthen circular value chains and mobilise private-sector engagement, including through initiatives such as the EU Global Gateway.
