GEO-6 for Youth: Africa
access to electricity by the year 2040 (World Bank 2017); this number could increase drastically if these innovations are supported and fully
operational. Figure 2 shows the current top ten countries in Africa in renewable energy production.
Figure 2: Top ten African countries in electricy generation from renewable sources, 2018
6000 7000
5000 4000 3000
2000 1000 0
South Africa
Egypt Ethiopia Morocco Angola The
Democratic Republic of Congo
Source: International Renewable Energy Agency [IRENA] (2019) Zambia Mozambique 6,065 4,813 4,326 3,263 2,763 2,750 2,446 2,235 2,143 2,136
Nigeria
Sudan
Youth Action 1: Solar photovoltaic technology, Zimbabwe
Simbarashe Mhuriro is a young Zimbabwean scientist in the renewable energy space and the founder and managing director of Oxygen Africa, a renewable energy development company focused on commercial and industrial rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. Simbarashe was shortlisted by CNBC Africa and All Africa Business Leaders Awards partners for the Innovator of the Year Award. He was also named as one of Africa’s 30 most promising and inspirational young entrepreneurs by Forbes Magazine (Nsehe 2018), and recognized by the Africa Youth Awards as one of 100 most influential Young Africans of the year.
1.5.2 Sustainable agricultural practices
Africa’s fast growing population will result in rising food demand that will necessitate more agricultural output (FAO 2017). For this food gap to be filled, young scientists in Africa must be incentivized to invest their time towards enhancement of sustainable agriculture.
Inclusive and sustainable economic development, employment and decent work can be realized through innovation. Unemployment is a problem which can be solved through the use of science and technology (AfDB 2016). Public and private investment in research and development needs to engage young scientists, and support innovation and product development to overcome the current and future challenges and achieve sustainable development.
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Public and private support is needed for youth-led green cottage industries. Appropriate infrastructure would ensure that youth engagement in green businesses is sustained. To facilitate this decentralization of climate action through cottage industries, governments need to strengthen infrastructure such as internet connectivity, access to finance, and improved transport in rural and semi-urban areas (Sarkar 2017). Incentivising youth-led green businesses through tax rebates to cushion them from competition by established industries (Linnanen 2005), as well as favourable grants and contracts to encourage them to engage in environmental conservation and climate action that also includes opportunities for employment and decent wages.
1.5.3 The way forward for young scientists
Young scientists need to be empowered and supported to contribute to development plans and policies. A transformative education (United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF] 2015) is needed to prepare future generations to engage in and harness dynamic technologies, and to foster a culture of innovation.
Finally, to be able to realize their ideas and innovations to solve Africa’s development challenges, young scientists need to learn
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