Frugal innovators as change agents in circular economy transitions

The concept of frugal innovation (FI) helps us to better understand situations and contexts in which something less can actually be something more. This ‘something more’ typically becomes possible because the scarcity of resources may stimulate innovative thinking. Frugal innovators use challenges in their operational environment as a source of inspiration and respond to different constraints with innovative solutions. This chapter examines interesting connections between the ideas of frugality and circularity. Like FI, the circular economy (CE) narrative revolves around the notion of resource scarcity and the concept is of current relevance to many actors, ranging from the business world to research and from public administration to non-governmental organizations and think tanks. In this chapter, we argue that frugal innovators have the capacity to act as change agents in circular economy transitions, especially in low-income contexts of the Global South.