Africa could create more than 60 million green jobs by 2030, but the continent must urgently build the skills, financing and policies needed to unlock that potential, organisers of a new pan-African initiative said on Tuesday.
This is even as Jacob’s Ladder Africa announced plans to host the GreenWorks 4 Africa Forum, a new platform aimed at accelerating green skills development and job creation across the continent.
The inaugural forum will take place from August 11 to 13, 2026, in Nairobi, bringing together policymakers, business leaders, development partners, academics and civil society groups to develop practical solutions for Africa’s green economy.
Sellah Bogonko, co-founder and chief executive of Jacob’s Ladder Africa, said the initiative was created to address the continent’s growing youth unemployment challenge.
“Africa’s workforce is largely informal. We are not creating the most decent or sustainable jobs because many of these roles are not recognised within the formal regulatory system,” Bogonko said during a media briefing attended by journalists across Africa.
Read also: Court suspends interim order appointing administrator over Green Energy, Lekoil
She said this makes it harder for workers and businesses to access finance and institutional support needed to grow.
Africa faces increasing pressure to create jobs as roughly 10 million young people enter the labour market every year, widening the gap between job seekers and available opportunities.
Bogonko said green jobs and green skills development could help close that gap while also supporting climate action.
According to the International Labour Organization, Africa’s green economy could generate more than 60 million jobs by 2030, especially in sectors such as renewable energy, waste management and natural resource management.
“The potential for growth in Africa’s green economy is undisputed. However, these projections only become reality if we build the infrastructure needed for green enterprises to thrive,” Bogonko said.
The forum will also come ahead of next year’s COP32 expected to be hosted in Addis Ababa, which organisers say provides an opportunity for Africa to showcase climate solutions developed on the continent.
Read also: Green Energy unveils Nigeria’s first $400m indigenous crude export terminal
Joan Kubai, head of advocacy at Jacob’s Ladder Africa, said the GreenWorks platform is designed to move discussions on green jobs beyond policy dialogue to real implementation.
“The idea is to move beyond dialogue and drive tangible progress towards Africa’s green and just transition,” Kubai said.
She said the forum will focus on six sectors with strong potential for green job creation. These include renewable energy and productive energy use, e-mobility and green infrastructure, climate-resilient agriculture, circular industry and waste systems, nature-based enterprises, and green manufacturing and sustainable mining.
Discussions will also address financing, policy frameworks and social issues such as youth empowerment, gender equality and community inclusion.
Organisers said the event will feature working sessions and collaboration rooms designed to produce concrete outcomes. Planned outputs include an African Toolkit for Green Jobs Development, commitments from governments and investors to expand green job pipelines, and the launch of a continental coalition for green skills and opportunities.
They also plan to introduce an African Green Jobs Index to track workforce development and measure progress in building the continent’s green economy.
Bogonko called on journalists and stakeholders to highlight programmes that are already creating sustainable employment across Africa.
“Across the continent there are programmes that are working. Our goal is to showcase these models and scale them so that Africa’s young people can access sustainable opportunities,” she said.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
Facts Only
Africa could create over 60 million green jobs by 2030.
Jacob’s Ladder Africa is organizing the GreenWorks 4 Africa Forum.
The forum will take place from August 11 to 13, 2026, in Nairobi.
Attendees will include policymakers, business leaders, academics, and civil society groups.
Sellah Bogonko is the co-founder and CEO of Jacob’s Ladder Africa.
Africa’s workforce is largely informal, limiting access to finance and support.
Roughly 10 million young Africans enter the labor market annually.
Green jobs could emerge in renewable energy, waste management, and natural resource sectors.
The forum will focus on six sectors: renewable energy, e-mobility, climate-resilient agriculture, circular industry, nature-based enterprises, and green manufacturing.
Planned outputs include an African Toolkit for Green Jobs Development and a continental coalition.
The event precedes COP32, expected to be hosted in Addis Ababa.
Joan Kubai is the head of advocacy at Jacob’s Ladder Africa.
The forum aims to produce commitments from governments and investors to expand green job pipelines.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative presents a compelling vision of Africa’s green economy as a solution to youth unemployment and climate challenges. At its strongest, it acknowledges structural barriers—informal labor markets, financing gaps, and policy deficits—while proposing concrete steps like sector-specific focus areas and measurable outputs. The emphasis on moving "beyond dialogue" to implementation is a refreshing counter to the often performative nature of climate summits. However, the optimism about 60 million jobs by 2030 warrants scrutiny. Such projections rely on assumptions about political will, infrastructure development, and global investment flows, none of which are guaranteed. The article also leans on the authority of the International Labour Organization without interrogating the feasibility of scaling green sectors in diverse African economies.
Patterns detected: ARC-0024 Ambiguity (vague timelines for policy changes), ARC-0043 Motte-and-Bailey (broad claims of "green jobs" without defining metrics for success).
Root cause: The narrative reflects a broader paradigm of "green growth" as a panacea for structural inequality, assuming that market-driven solutions can simultaneously address climate change and unemployment. This echoes historical patterns of development rhetoric that overpromise systemic change while underdelivering on equity.
Implications: If successful, the initiative could empower African youth and reduce reliance on extractive industries. Yet, without safeguards, green job creation risks replicating informal labor’s precarity under a new label. Who controls financing and policy frameworks will determine whether benefits accrue to local communities or external investors.
Bridge questions: How can green job programs avoid becoming another form of "greenwashing" for corporate interests? What mechanisms ensure that marginalized groups—women, rural populations—access these opportunities? Would a focus on decentralized, community-led projects yield more equitable outcomes than top-down initiatives?
Counterstrike scan: A coordinated influence campaign would amplify the 60 million jobs figure without context, frame opposition as "anti-progress," and obscure the role of foreign capital in shaping Africa’s green transition. This article avoids such tactics, instead grounding its claims in specific sectors and acknowledging implementation challenges. No structural alignment with manipulation detected.
Sentinel — Human
The article shows strong signs of human authorship, with natural language variation, specific attributions, and contextual depth. Low risk of synthetic generation.