Nachhaltiger Fortschritt: die AfCFTA und Chancen für grüne Arbeitsplätze in Afrika

The document argues that the AfCFTA can mitigate Africa's youth unemployment crisis by fostering a regional market for greentech goods and services. It highlights a significant trade deficit in green goods and suggests that localising production—supported by tax incentives, digital skills training, and the revitalisation of Indigenous environmental practices—can create millions of jobs. While carbon-intensive sectors may lose up to 4.2 million jobs by 2050, the energy transition could create up to 12 million jobs in the same period, provided that regulatory barriers are removed and investment is facilitated.

• Africa faces a severe youth unemployment crisis, with more than 72 million young people unemployed, two-thirds of whom are women.
• There is a substantial trade deficit in green goods within Africa; in 2024, intra-African exports represented only 3.47% of the USD 2.278 billion worth of these goods imported by African countries from the rest of the world.
• The transition to sustainable energy is expected to cause a net gain in employment: while carbon-intensive industries may lose 2.1 million jobs by 2030 and 4.2 million by 2050, the energy transition could create 9 million jobs by 2030 and an additional 3 million by 2050.
• The renewable energy sector is a primary driver of job growth, with projections suggesting it will create 4 million jobs by 2030 and 8 million by 2050, specifically in solar, bioenergy, wind, and hydropower.
• Indigenous greentech, such as Za pit farming in Burkina Faso and Niger or sand dams in Ethiopia and Kenya, offers sustainable, context-specific solutions that can be traded and scaled via the AfCFTA to provide livelihoods for rural youth.
• Green hydrogen presents significant economic opportunities for countries like Morocco, Namibia, and South Africa, though it is currently hindered by high production costs, infrastructure gaps, and a lack of specialised skills.
• The document identifies four primary hurdles to greentech growth: insufficient digital economy integration, underutilisation of Indigenous technologies, regulatory barriers in green services trade, and limited funding for startups.

APA

Tayo, T. (2025). Nachhaltiger Fortschritt: die AfCFTA und Chancen für grüne Arbeitsplätze in Afrika. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/de/nachhaltiger-fortschritt-die-afcfta-und-chancen-fur-grune-arbeitsplaetze-in-afrika-en

Chicago

Tayo, Teniola. Nachhaltiger Fortschritt: die AfCFTA und Chancen für grüne Arbeitsplätze in Afrika. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2025. https://afripoli.org/de/nachhaltiger-fortschritt-die-afcfta-und-chancen-fur-grune-arbeitsplaetze-in-afrika-en.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tayo |first1=Teniola |title=Nachhaltiger Fortschritt: die AfCFTA und Chancen für grüne Arbeitsplätze in Afrika |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=27 October 2025 |url=https://afripoli.org/de/nachhaltiger-fortschritt-die-afcfta-und-chancen-fur-grune-arbeitsplaetze-in-afrika-en |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tayo2025nachhaltiger, author = {Tayo, Teniola}, title = {{Nachhaltiger Fortschritt: die AfCFTA und Chancen für grüne Arbeitsplätze in Afrika}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://afripoli.org/de/nachhaltiger-fortschritt-die-afcfta-und-chancen-fur-grune-arbeitsplaetze-in-afrika-en}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }