Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa

This report by FSD Africa provides a pan-African forecast of direct green job creation by 2030 across 12 material value chains. It identifies a significant near-term opportunity for 1.5 to 3.3 million new direct jobs, primarily driven by the energy and power sector. The analysis emphasizes that while long-term potential is vast, immediate investment in human capital and skilling is required to realize these gains.

• Between 1.5 million and 3.3 million new direct green jobs are forecasted across Africa by 2030 within 12 material value chains. This estimate is considered a conservative baseline as it excludes indirect and induced employment, as well as nascent sectors like green hydrogen and biofuels.
• The energy and power sector is the primary driver of green employment, expected to generate up to 2 million jobs, which represents approximately 70% of the total forecast. Solar energy alone is projected to create up to 1.7 million jobs (57% of the total).
• Agriculture and nature are forecasted to provide up to 700,000 jobs (25% of the total). The largest contributors in this sector are climate smart agriculture technology (up to 377,000 jobs), aquaculture and poultry (up to 189,000 jobs), and ecosystem and nature-based solutions (up to 117,000 jobs).
• Of the five focus countries analyzed, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria show the highest job creation potential, jointly representing 25% of total expected jobs (755,000). This is attributed to factors such as South Africa's GDP per capita, Kenya's solar technology advancement, and Nigeria's population projections.
• Job demand is distributed across four skill levels: unskilled jobs (casual laborers, sales) represent the largest opportunity at up to 1.3 million (40%); specialized skills (operations and maintenance) at up to 970,000 (30%); general and administrative jobs at up to 650,000 (20%); and advanced skills (engineers, geologists) at up to 320,000 (10%).
• Industry experts suggest that by 2050, the green economy could create up to 100 million new and improved jobs and livelihoods across Africa, though the report argues that this long-term goal depends on rigorous short-term workforce development by 2030.
• The report identifies specific leading employers by country: hydro is the leading employer in the Democratic Republic of Congo (16,000 jobs) and Ethiopia (33,000 jobs); solar leads in South Africa (140,000 jobs) and Kenya (111,000 jobs); and aquaculture and poultry lead in Nigeria (69,000 jobs).
• To enable the green ecosystem, the report proposes three primary actions: enhancing the fact base through deep dives into labor supply, developing the workforce via updated vocational and formal education, and enabling the ecosystem through targeted investments and cross-sector collaboration.

APA

FSD Africa (2024). Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Forecasting-Green-Jobs-in-Africa-2024.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa. 2024. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Forecasting-Green-Jobs-in-Africa-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa |date=July 2024 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Forecasting-Green-Jobs-in-Africa-2024.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2024forecasting, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Forecasting-Green-Jobs-in-Africa-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }