Qrent pitches refurbished tech as a smarter IT strategy for Africa

Qrent says African organizations can cut costs, reduce Scope 3 emissions and improve supply chain resilience by building circular IT into procurement. The company argues refurbished hardware and lifecycle management are now a business strategy, not just a sustainability play.

Why it matters: - Qrent says circular IT now helps organizations address three pressures at once: budget strain, ESG reporting and operational resilience. - The company argues refurbished technology can reduce hardware spending while also lowering exposure to currency swings and supply chain disruption. - The shift matters because IT procurement is becoming a bigger part of ESG and compliance conversations across African businesses.

What happened: - Qrent, a provider of refurbished technology solutions and IT asset lifecycle management, said the market for circular IT has changed. - Kwirirai Rukowo, Managing Executive for MEA at Qrent, said boards and finance teams are now asking how to do more with less, faster and with less exposure. - The company framed the message around June 29, 2026, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The details: - JSE-listed companies face climate-related disclosure requirements aligned to IFRS S2. - Multinationals operating in South Africa increasingly must show ESG compliance at the supply-chain level for global parent companies. - Public sector entities and government contractors are seeing more sustainability criteria in procurement and bid evaluation. - Qrent says IT procurement remains one of the most underexamined parts of most organizations’ ESG strategies. - Hardware manufacturing is one of the most carbon-intensive stages of a device’s lifecycle. - Raw material extraction, fabrication and international logistics contribute to an organization’s Scope 3 emissions. - Extending device lifecycles through refurbishment reduces demand for new manufacturing. - Qrent says that creates a measurable Scope 3 reduction that can be reported against sustainability targets. - Africa generates a significant volume of electronic waste, while formal recycling and responsible disposal infrastructure remains limited in many markets. - Organizations without a structured disposal strategy face reputational, regulatory and environmental exposure. - Qrent’s model includes IT asset recovery, responsible recycling and lifecycle management. - The company says its process creates a chain of custody from deployment through end-of-life disposal that can support compliance and due diligence. - Enterprise-grade refurbished hardware, when properly tested and certified, can deliver the performance needed for most business workloads. - Qrent says local currency-denominated rental and leasing arrangements can remove currency risk from IT procurement in markets where hardware is priced in U.S. dollars. - The company’s offering includes refurbished hardware sales, short- and long-term rentals, IT asset recovery and lifecycle management.

Between the lines: - Qrent is positioning circular IT as a finance and risk-management decision, not a niche sustainability initiative. - That framing is aimed at organizations that may already want ESG progress but need a clearer business case to change procurement behavior. - The message also reflects Africa-specific conditions: longer infrastructure cycles, tighter capital budgets and more pressure from currency volatility than in many developed markets.

What's next: - Qrent says organizations can adopt circular IT incrementally rather than replacing their procurement model all at once. - The company expects more businesses to embed sustainability into technology purchasing and asset management as disclosure and supply-chain expectations keep rising. - Rukowo says the organizations that lead on sustainability in Africa will be the ones that make it part of default operating practice.