A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has highlighted a glaring disparity in the global green energy job market, with Africa capturing a meager 3% of the total jobs created in the sector despite the continent’s vast renewable energy potential.
Shocking Disparity in Job Creation
In 2025, Africa managed to secure just 344,000 jobs in the burgeoning green energy sector, according to IRENA’s Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2025. This figure contrasts sharply with the global surge in green energy employment, which saw millions of new positions created worldwide.
Africa is home to 60% of the world’s best solar resources, yet its share of the green energy job market remains disproportionately low. This has raised concerns about the continent’s ability to leverage its natural resources for economic development, with critics likening the situation to a modern-day “resource curse.”
While countries in Africa such as Kenya are seeing growth in solar energy jobs, the majority of these positions are short-term and low-skill, focusing mainly on the installation of solar panels rather than long-term roles in research, engineering, and manufacturing. As the region moves forward with large-scale projects like the Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Kenya, questions arise about the sustainability of these employment opportunities.
The Need for Local Manufacturing
Experts are sounding the alarm over Africa’s role as a mere consumer of green technologies. Despite its enormous solar and wind resources, the manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries remains largely concentrated in China and the West. This lack of local manufacturing limits Africa’s ability to capture higher-value job opportunities that could drive long-term economic growth and technological innovation.
“We cannot just be the site where the sun shines and the wind blows,” said an energy analyst in Nairobi. “We must own the value chain.” Without a shift towards local manufacturing, Africa risks missing out on the economic benefits of the green energy transition, potentially repeating the exploitative dynamics of past resource extraction models.
The report’s findings serve as a stark reminder that while Africa holds the potential to be a global leader in renewable energy, it needs to rethink its approach to the green transition. Without significant investment in local industries and long-term infrastructure, the continent may continue to fall short of reaping the full economic benefits of the green energy boom.
