By Felicia Dairo
The conversations at the Youth Energy Summit (YES!) engagement in Ghana revealed both a striking truth and a powerful opportunity. Many young people still believe the energy sector is closed to them, yet it is one of the fastest-growing and most opportunity-rich sectors on the continent.
From the opening moments, the tone was set. Participants were reminded that energy is not just about engineers and power plants. It is about law, finance, data, entrepreneurship, technology, policy, communications, and community development. The sector touches every part of modern life, and therefore, every discipline. For young people searching for relevance, meaning, and economic opportunity, the energy sector is not a narrow corridor, it is a wide-open field.
Yet perception remains a barrier. Across the continent, young people regularly say, “The energy sector isn’t really for us.” The conversations in Accra directly challenged that notion. The energy value chain is complex and multifaceted, with investment steadily flowing into renewable energy, natural gas, transmission infrastructure, off-grid solutions, clean cooking, and digital energy platforms. What many young people lack is not opportunity, but access to information, skills pathways, networks, and visible role models.
One story shared during the session captured what becomes possible when those barriers are removed. A young African entrepreneur attended a similar energy convening in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, connected with investors, and returned home to launch a small electricity supply business. Today, his company (Boost Power) powers nearly 60 shops in his local community. That journey, from conference hall to community power, demonstrates what happens when opportunity meets preparation and action. It serves as a reminder that youth participation in energy is not merely theoretical. It is already happening, one community at a time.
The urgency of youth involvement is sharpened by the realities of Africa’s energy landscape. West Africa alone is home to over 450 million people, and its population is becoming increasingly urban, youthful, and digitally connected. Electricity demand is rising by between 3 and 8 per cent each year. In Ghana, demand continues to grow steadily, with billions of dollars required over the next few years to expand supply, strengthen infrastructure, and modernise the grid. Across the region, power shortages, fuel price volatility, climate pressures, and unreliable transmission continue to shape daily life and economic performance.
Yet alongside these challenges is rising momentum. Ghana’s economy is rebounding after recent pressures. Investor confidence is returning. Industries are expanding. Behind this recovery sits a clear recognition that energy is not a peripheral sector, it is the engine of growth. Without reliable power, factories stall, hospitals struggle, digital services fail, and small businesses are unable to scale. With power, opportunity multiplies.
This is where young people move from being observers to being architects.
One of the strongest messages at the YES! session was that renewable energy alone already represents one of the largest job-creation opportunities in the world. Millions of renewable energy jobs are being created globally every year, yet Africa still accounts for only a fraction of that workforce, despite possessing some of the world’s best solar, wind, and hydro resources. The gap is not in natural potential; it is in skills development, policy certainty, financing structures, and youth inclusion.
Youth bring a unique advantage to this space. They are digitally fluent, adaptable, creative, and less bound by traditional ways of working. But high unemployment persists. The challenge is how to translate population strength into economic strength. That translation happens when policy meets skills, when finance meets ideas, and when young people stop seeing themselves as future leaders and start acting as present ones.
The conversation also made clear that energy today is no longer just a technical sector reserved for engineers. It has become a full ecosystem. Data analysts are needed to optimise grids. Financial experts structure power projects. Lawyers negotiate power purchase agreements. Environmental specialists ensure sustainability. Software developers build smart meters and digital payment tools. Drone operators inspect transmission lines. Entrepreneurs deploy solar systems in rural clinics. Communication experts run public awareness campaigns. In this ecosystem, youth are not guests; they are central players.
Government policy is beginning to reflect this wider reality. Investment in renewable energy, off-grid solar, mini-grids, and clean cooking solutions is expanding access, especially in underserved communities. Training and certification programmes are being rolled out through energy agencies and utilities. These efforts are creating new industries that young people can lead, not just enter. But one major gap remains: awareness. Many young people are still unaware of these opportunities or how to access them. Policy without visibility cannot fully empower youth.
The responsibility, however, does not rest with government alone. The YES! discussions were direct about the role young people must play in their own advancement. Youth must seek information actively, build relevant skills, pursue mentorship, and be willing to start small. Leadership does not begin at 60; it begins with early decisions to position oneself within critical sectors. The energy transition is happening now, not in some distant future.
One powerful reframing came through the idea of geography. Too many young people believe success in energy exists only in capital cities. Yet rural communities present some of the greatest opportunities in the energy sector, often with lower competition and higher impact. Mini-grids, solar irrigation, cold storage for agriculture, clean cooking technologies, and rural electrification projects all need entrepreneurs, technicians, financiers, and community organisers. Many of today’s most impactful energy leaders started far from urban centres. They succeeded because they saw opportunity where others saw limitation.
Skills remain another decisive factor. There is a growing mismatch between what the energy sector needs and what many young people currently offer. Technical and vocational education, renewable energy engineering, finance, project development, digital systems, and environmental management are becoming critical. But equally important is mindset. Young people do not need perfect skills before entering the sector. Boldness, curiosity, and the willingness to learn often matter just as much as formal training.
The financial side of youth participation was also laid bare. One of the biggest barriers to scaling youth-led energy projects is bankability. Many good ideas never leave the drawing board because they cannot attract financing. This is where banks, development institutions, and blended finance mechanisms become essential. Advisory services, project preparation support, risk-sharing tools, and green finance play a crucial role in turning concepts into viable projects. Youth must learn not only how to build technologies, but how to build financially credible businesses around them.
What became clear is that energy projects attract talent across the entire value chain. From policy to finance, engineering to operations, data to administration, the sector creates space for diverse skills. Energy is not just power; it is the oxygen of the modern economy.
But youth participation itself must be intentional. It will not happen automatically. Governments, private companies, financial institutions, and development partners must deliberately create structured pathways for young people, particularly women and underserved communities. Training programmes that reach only a handful of participants at a time are not enough. If Ghana, Nigeria and their neighbours aim to dominate renewable energy in Africa, they will need large-scale workforce development strategies that match the scale of ambition.
At the same time, young people must also take responsibility for positioning themselves. Waiting to be invited into the energy sector is no longer an option. The transition is moving too fast. The window of opportunity is open now, but it will not stay open indefinitely.
The human meaning of all this was perhaps best captured in a simple story shared near the end of the session. A young engineer working on a rural microgrid was asked why he chose energy. His answer was simple: when the light is on, life comes alive, and when the light is on, hope comes alive. That statement cuts to the heart of Africa’s energy challenge. Electricity is not just infrastructure. It is education after sunset. It is refrigeration for medicines. It is mobile connectivity. It is safety. It is dignity.
Now imagine being one of the people responsible for keeping those lights on. Not as a distant policymaker, but as a technician, a developer, a financier, a software engineer, an entrepreneur. The reward is not only financial; it is deeply human. It is knowing that your work directly shapes the quality of life for millions.
The YES! engagement in Ghana offered not just conversation, but a blueprint. It showed that the energy sector is broad enough for every type of talent and urgent enough to demand youth leadership now. It showed that opportunity exists across renewables, gas, digital energy, mini-grids, policy, and finance. It showed that Africa’s energy future will not be built by institutions alone, but by young people who choose to step forward.
Youth are not just the future of Africa’s energy sector. They are its present force. Whether in urban innovation hubs or rural communities, in policy rooms or power plants, in banks or engineering sites, young Africans are already shaping the continent’s future energy landscape.
The question now is no longer whether youth belong in the energy sector. The question is whether the energy sector is ready to fully unleash the power of its youth.
