Youth Inclusion in Green Technology in Africa: A Policy Landscape Analysis of Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana

The document examines the intersection of green technology and youth employment in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. It finds that while these countries have established frameworks for clean energy, e-mobility, and climate-smart agriculture, there is a persistent lack of coherence between climate policies and youth employment strategies. The analysis highlights that youth are often excluded from policy-making and that interministerial cooperation is inadequate, hindering the potential for green tech to address high youth unemployment and NEET rates in sub-Saharan Africa.

• African countries face significant policy and institutional barriers to green tech development, including a lack of interministerial cooperation and the exclusion of young people from the policy-making process. Policy documents frequently prioritize gender mainstreaming over youth inclusion.
• In Nigeria, the solar mini-grid sector has grown rapidly, with over 200 local and international companies active, compared to fewer than 20 a decade ago. However, the policy landscape is only moderately coherent, lacking an integrated strategy to link renewable energy objectives with youth employment.
• Kenya's e-mobility sector is emerging as a pathway to decarbonize transport, with over 50 youth-led startups and USD 26 million in new funding in 2021. Despite this, there is a critical need for targeted strategies to explicitly link e-mobility policies to youth employment, as current frameworks like the Integrated National Transport Policy do not fully integrate informal sectors into the transition.
• Ghana utilizes climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to address climate risks and youth unemployment, with the Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Plan (2022) identifying a USD 389.5 million investment requirement for projects potentially benefiting 1.7 million farmers. However, coherence remains weak, as the National Climate Change Policy (2013) fails to address green job creation through CSA technologies.

APA

Agbaegbu, C., Onitekun, O. D., Fagorite, V., & Gaiya, A. (2025). Youth Inclusion in Green Technology in Africa: A Policy Landscape Analysis of Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/youth-inclusion-in-green-technology-in-africa-a-policy-landscape-analysis-of-nigeria-kenya-and-ghana

Chicago

Agbaegbu, Chibuikem, Olumide Damilola Onitekun, Victor Fagorite, and Abel Gaiya. Youth Inclusion in Green Technology in Africa: A Policy Landscape Analysis of Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2025. https://afripoli.org/youth-inclusion-in-green-technology-in-africa-a-policy-landscape-analysis-of-nigeria-kenya-and-ghana.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Agbaegbu |first1=Chibuikem |last2=Onitekun |first2=Olumide Damilola |last3=Fagorite |first3=Victor |last4=Gaiya |first4=Abel |title=Youth Inclusion in Green Technology in Africa: A Policy Landscape Analysis of Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=30 September 2025 |url=https://afripoli.org/youth-inclusion-in-green-technology-in-africa-a-policy-landscape-analysis-of-nigeria-kenya-and-ghana |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{agbaegbu2025youth, author = {Agbaegbu, Chibuikem and Onitekun, Olumide Damilola and Fagorite, Victor and Gaiya, Abel}, title = {{Youth Inclusion in Green Technology in Africa: A Policy Landscape Analysis of Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://afripoli.org/youth-inclusion-in-green-technology-in-africa-a-policy-landscape-analysis-of-nigeria-kenya-and-ghana}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }