Africa's green economy could create 3.3 million jobs by 2030, with 1.7 million in solar alone. Africa's renewable energy sector currently employs roughly 324,000 people. Ten million young Africans enter the labour market every year. Vincent Egoro on why the training pipeline keeps missing the target
Solar batteries in sub-Saharan Africa last one to five years. When they fail, 71% are thrown into pits or bins. One informally recycled battery releases 100+ times the lethal dose of lead. ETA explains what three peer-reviewed studies have documented.
78% of African firms experienced outages last year. 41% name electricity their biggest constraint. Nigeria loses $26bn annually — before counting $22bn in generator fuel. Firms in sub-Saharan Africa lose 56 hours per month to power cuts. ETA quantifies the hidden industrial tax.
Africa had the world's largest solar cost reduction of any region between 2015 and 2025, 76% lower installation costs 77% lower electricity costs. IRENA's 2025 report shows that country risk explains 56% of financing cost variation across markets.
Mission 300 assumes capable institutions. The Twin Transition assumes governance-literate regulators. Africa's energy systems are digitising rapidly. But who is training the policymakers, energy economists, and digital regulators who must govern all of it? Vincent Egoro asks.
Morocco scored 0.8415 on the AfDB's 2025 Africa Industrialisation Index. South Africa scored 0.8396, its first time below Morocco since 2010. Manufacturing fell from 21% to 12% of South Africa's GDP. ETA analyses what produced the divergence and what electricity has to do with it.
75% of solar products in sub-Saharan Africa no longer work. ETA Analysis explains why the financing architecture produces that outcome, and what three reforms would change it.
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