African countries have abundant energy resources, but electricity is urgently needed for people's living and economic development. The strong dependence on fossil fuels leads to drastic effects of climate change, including drought, flooding, soil erosion etc. In addition, individuals are losing their lives and incurring economic losses from climate-related disasters every year in most African countries. Hence, there is an immediate need for a technical transfer, research and training centre in Africa to promote the development of clean energy and rural electrification for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 (Affordable and clean energy), SDG 13 (Climate action) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the goals).

Plastics can be divided into conventional plastics and special plastics according to their uses. Conventional plastics include general-purpose and engineering plastics; special plastics are functional plastic materials. These are high-tech materials that use general-purpose and engineering plastics as a base, which are then filled, blended or reinforced for specific performance purposes or to improve flame retardancy, strength, impact resistance and toughness. Examples include magnetic permeability materials, medical polymers, photosensitive materials and pearlescent materials. Functional plastic materials have been widely used in various fields and have recently become more common in many South-East Asian countries and some developing countries in Latin America. Due to a lack of research and development in functional plastics in these countries and regions, most rely on imports from abroad. As a result, functional plastic products are expensive, and large-scale promotion and application are unsuccessful. Functional plastic materials are convenient because of their unique performance and advantages, but incorrect use will harm the environment. This project relies on technology to make up for the deficiencies of general-purpose plastics. It seeks to improve product performance, explore simple recycling options and analyse environmentally degradable performance for sustainable development.

Although financial systems in Africa have progressed over the past 20 years, liberalization, privatization, and stabilization have yet to translate into more accessible financial services for the majority of Africans. There is a strong relationship between financial market development and economic growth. Financial markets help to direct the flow of savings and investments in the economy to facilitate the accumulation of capital and the production of goods and services. At a time of slowing global growth, the world is beginning to take notice of the fast-growing population and markets in Africa and the opportunities they hold. Nevertheless, the lack of access to financial services for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at all levels continues to hamper cooperation in Africa.

The adoption of information technology provides opportunities and conditions to promote economic development, enhance traditional industries and develop new information industries and high- and new-technology industries. It also has a significant impact on urban development, bringing new ideas and innovative methods to city management. Based on the development experience of China, informatization correlated positively with gross domestic product growth and benefited urban management. Higher levels of information technology lead to greater efficiency and faster economic growth for cities. In some developing countries and regions, the slow development of information technology infrastructures has resulted in a lack of awareness and opportunities for citizens to access the latest information technology and use it on a daily basis for life and work.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have always been important in developing countries, and central and local governments have been working on laws and regulations to promote their development. In today’s society, e-commerce is rapidly transforming the way in which enterprises are interacting with each other, consumers and policymakers. However, less developed countries and regions rely on low information technology and have less experience in informatization, which has hindered the development of e-commerce and related business activities among SMEs. The target countries of Cambodia, Cuba and Viet Nam have a significant number of SMEs and provide strong support for domestic markets; however, government officials struggle to promote economic growth and integrate these SMEs in the global market.

Over the last four decades, while the local economies have been developing, Lake Victoria has faced a number of environmental problems, including pollution, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction and soil erosion. It is estimated that the lake’s indigenous fish species have been reduced by 80 per cent and that over 70 per cent of the forest cover in the catchment area has been lost. In addition, due to the poor water quality of the rivers flowing into the lake, amounts of silt and nutrients are increasing, which adds to the siltation problem of Lake Victoria. Environmental degradation forces locals back into extreme poverty and deep into the vicious circles of pollution and poverty. The project introduces the concept and strategy of integrated watershed management (IWM) of Poyang Lake Basin: “To manage the lake, the rivers must be harnessed; to harness the rivers, the mountains must be developed; to develop the mountains, poverty must be alleviated.”

Eastern Africa has the highest overall small hydropower (SHP) potential on the continent, and Western Africa is the region with the second largest SHP potential. In Eastern Africa, Zambia’s electricity production is heavily dependent on hydroelectric generation, both in terms of large and small hydropower projects. Due to the limitations imposed by electricity access, there is a need to develop new SHP projects that take advantage of its high potential and are able to support rural electrification. In Western Africa, Nigeria has a high level of installed SHP capacity, indeed, the highest in the region, yet this amounts to only 6 percent of its total small hydropower potential. Similarly, Ghana has no SHP plant, but rather, just a large hydropower project. The challenge to ensure access to electricity in rural areas determines the importance of small hydropower resources.

Aquaculture in rice-based farming systems plays an important role for food security and poverty alleviation. Myanmar has extensive rice field resources, and rice-fish culture has been practised in the country since the mid-1990s. The Government observed that aquatic production, in addition to the rice crop, was a critically important product for rural livelihoods. However, although vast resources that can be utilized for rice-fish are available in Myanmar, this industry has not been highly successful. Its development has progressed at a slow rate, mainly due to some major constraints, e.g. lack of skilled technicians for selecting optimized fish species; lower farming management expertise; poor design of rice fish farming facility; insufficient qualified technicians on rice-fish culture; insufficient fish seed supplies; and lack of funds for rice-fish farming and other related projects

With rapid growth in economies and societies, most developing countries are facing common challenges in treating waste, such as municipal solid waste, sludge, hazardous waste, fly ash and slag. Industrial and municipal waste have caused heavy pollution, impacting the environment and human health. Waste is a growing problem for all developing countries. Viet Nam produces over 15 million tonnes of waste each year from various sources. The reuse, recycling, collection, treatment and disposal of waste can pose a significant risk to the environment. Some Governments have issued polices to encourage recycling, but most do not have the capacity to develop waste utilization technologies. Both Viet Nam and Thailand have limited access to advanced waste utilization technologies nationwide.

The adoption of information technology provides opportunities and conditions to promote economic development, enhance traditional industries and develop new information industries and high- and new-technology industries. It also has a significant impact on urban development, bringing new ideas and innovative methods to city management. Based on the development experience of China, informatization correlated positively with gross domestic product growth and benefited urban management. Higher levels of information technology lead to greater efficiency and faster economic growth for cities. In some developing countries and regions, the slow development of information technology infrastructures has resulted in a lack of awareness and opportunities for citizens to access the latest information technology and use it on a daily basis for life and work. With assistance, developing countries will be able to implement good practices on the development of information technology and discover concrete ways to leverage it to promote urban development.