Financial experts, environmentalists and stakeholders at a recent knowledge sharing forum held on the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Annual Meetings in Accra, have harped on the need for Africa to turn its climate challenges into opportunities to create green jobs for young people and women in the continent.
The event which brought together participants around the theme of green jobs for youth and women in Africa after COVID-19, gave them the opportunity to share their experiences on climate change adaptation solutions developed in the continent and the United States by the private sector.
The forum noted that Africa is the main victim of climate change, despite emitting only 3 percent of greenhouse gases, adding that the continent can leverage its backlash to create job opportunities for its youth and women.
Ghana’s Minister of Finance and Chairman of the African Development Bank’s Board of Governors, Kenneth Ofori-Atta, illustrated how the Ghanaian government is innovatively and strategically creating green jobs for youth and women.
“We have put in place a $1 million You Start Programme that will enable us to create one million jobs for youth and women. The sectors concerned are agriculture, solar energy, reforestation, and agricultural processing”, he said.
According to him, young people represent more than 70 percent of the population, adding that African governments should unlock their potential by offering them better education, training, and support.
Similarly, Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana noted that his country is committed to adapting to climate change and has banned the use of plastic bags and non-biodegradable packaging materials in 2008.
Dr. Ndagijimana added that Rwanda has created its own Green Fund, a ground-breaking investment fund that is the largest of its kind in Africa.
“There is a need to develop human capital — technical and vocational training, science and technology training, engineering and to set up guarantee funds for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and youth and women-owned enterprises” he further explained.
He also pointed out that 70 percent of SMEs benefit from public guarantees to help them flourish. “More jobs for young people means more money for the public treasury”, he stressed.
In his contribution, a United States Treasury official, Eric Meyer said the green economy generated $13 billion in revenue for his country and created 9.5 million full-time jobs.
He added that the United States has been incredibly successful in creating green jobs, noting that this experience can be shared with African countries to support investments to create green jobs for young women and men in Africa.
“Green jobs pay 70 percent more than dirty jobs. The US government is encouraging the private sector to invest heavily in the green economy. The government is giving the right signals through regulations that favour green investments. President Biden has put the US on the path to a green economy, including electric vehicles, green energy, etc”, he further disclosed.
While speaking from the private sector perspective in terms of its commitment to climate adaptation, the founder of Salubata Technological Innovations Limited, Yewande Adebowale reiterated the need to invest more in the sector to meet the challenge of climate change.
Adebowale’s company produces customisable shoes from plastic waste under the brand name ‘Salubata’, (shoes that never wear out, in the Yoruba language). Each Salubata shoe purchased contributes to the removal of over 12.66 kilograms of CO2 from the environment, she said.
She however, lamented the obstacles that young entrepreneurs face to access finance: red tape, regulations, and other difficulties. “Young people have talent. We need to open finance to SMEs and develop strategic partnerships, build the capacity of young entrepreneurs, support African brands”, he added.
On his part, the Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Daniel Nii Kwei-Kumah Sackey, said the private sector is committed to climate change adaptation and is funding adaptation projects, adding that Ecobank Ghana is the only Green Climate Fund accredited financial institution in the West African country.
“It has received $20 million to finance green projects and support from the African Development Bank under its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative (AFAWA) through which the Bank made $420 million available in 2021 and intends to make $500 million available in 2022 to support women-owned businesses in Africa”, he added.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global Centre on Adaptation, Patrick Verkooijen harped on the link between green growth and green jobs. He observed that $15 billion of investment in adaptation in Africa will yield $200 billion per year.
He therefore called for the mobilisation of adaptation funding on a large scale, and said the African Development Bank and the Global Centre on Adaptation have mobilised $3 billion for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme since COP 26 in Glasgow.
In her closing remarks, African Development Bank Group Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Dr. Beth Dunford recalled that a dollar invested in adaptation could save 30 percent- 40 percent of the costs of adaptation later.
In her words, “We need to put together a sustainable structure to start from incubation to the creation of real businesses for young people and women”.