Africa possesses 60% of the world's best solar resources, yet it is harvesting crumbs when it comes to the economic windfall. A damning new study reveals that despite a global surge in renewable energy infrastructure, the continent captured a meager 3% of the sector's new jobs in 2025.

The report, Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2025, released by IRENA and the ILO, paints a picture of a "resource curse" 2.0. While the world added millions of green jobs, Africa created just 344,000—a drop in the ocean for a continent with the world's youngest workforce.

Solar: The Double-Edged Sword

The data shows that solar energy is the primary driver of employment in Kenya and the region, but there is a catch. Most of these roles are temporary, low-skill installation gigs rather than long-term engineering or manufacturing careers.

• The Gap: Manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries remains concentrated in China and the West, leaving Africa as a mere consumer of technology it powers.
• The Kenyan Context: While projects like Lake Turkana Wind Power are engineering marvels, the local job creation has not matched the hype, with automation limiting long-term employment.

The "Just Transition" Mirage?

Experts warn that without a shift to local manufacturing, the green transition will replicate the extractive colonial models of the past. "We cannot just be the site where the sun shines and the wind blows," said an energy analyst in Nairobi. "We must own the value chain."