The impacts of climate change are being felt across many countries in Africa, with the continent being disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. Marginalised groups, particularly women, are even more severely impacted by these effects. However, women have the potential to significantly contribute to Africa’s green economy, benefiting the continent in several transformative ways.
Economic Contributions
Women make up 58% of the self-employed population in Africa, contributing substantially to the continent’s GDP. Supporting women in green sectors like sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and sustainable entrepreneurship can boost economic diversification, creating new income streams and job opportunities. For Africa to effectively address climate change and meet its low-carbon transition goals, women must be empowered through policies and support structures geared toward their active participation in the green economy. When it comes to agriculture in Africa, women currently make up 40% of labour, despite this, much of the labour women perform is unpaid and non-economic, limiting its impact on their livelihoods. Through smart investments the gap between paid and unpaid labour can be bridged, enabling women to improve their livelihoods and be more empowered to have a more sustainable impact in their communities. This is particularly the case when women have greater access to financing and entrepreneurial opportunities. By adopting sustainable agricultural practices like climate smart agriculture, conservation farming women can be involved in developing the green agricultural sector and promoting food security. Renewable energy has enormous potential given the continent’s ample energy resources. According to the IEA 43% of Africans lack access to modern energy, there exists an energy poverty that primarily affects women, leaving them dependent on unsustainable practices to generate or access energy. Women owned enterprises tend to also have less access to electricity to their male counterparts. Women are heavily involved in household activities that require the use of energy for cooking and heating, being dependent on fossil fuels and biofuels to engage in these activities. These activities can have an impact on not only the environment but the health of those involved in them. There is a need for not only renewable energy but clean energy. Initiatives such as Solar Sisters aim to create, support and empower women owned businesses in areas such as clean energy to service communities that are reliant on fossil fuels to have improved access to electricity and energy and move on to more renewable energy. This also ensures women are involved in the distribution, installation and maintenance of solar systems. Green Hydrogen is seen as an area with great potential for women to be involved in with countries like Egypt, Mauritius, Kenya, Namibia and South Africa committed through initiatives like the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance, that aims to empower entrepreneurs, in particular women, through fostering collaboration, partnership and advancing the growth of the Green Hydrogen sector in the continent.
An increasing number of women are becoming involved in sustainable enterprises with women even being overrepresented in certain green sectors such as waste management and renewables like biomass. There is a need for improving the role of women in high-end green jobs and activities like construction, transportation and services related to green advisory and research. Women are often at the forefront of natural resource management, particularly in agriculture, agroforestry and conservation. By empowering them with green skills and resources, they can implement sustainable practices that improve food security, manage ecosystems, and increase community resilience to climate change. Countries like Cameroon are investing in restoration activities like agroforestry to empower women in rural areas in climate mitigation efforts like lowering carbon emission, soil enrichment, ecosystem resilience and food security whilst they increase their access to land and economic activities to improve their livelihood. Women’s involvement in these areas is crucial for advancing sustainable development and addressing the climate challenges that Africa faces. Supporting women led businesses in these areas can increase the number of businesses that can contribute to the green economy. Despite their significant contributions, women face numerous challenges that hinder their full participation in the green economy
Barriers to Entry
Women face a wide range of barriers in the green sector, ranging from educational skill gaps, cultural and social norms, limited access to land and resources, legal and regulatory obstacles, limited networks and market access and lack of gender sensitive policies. Women often have lower education levels and less access to skills training compared to men, this can create a skills gap that limits their ability to participate in the green economy. Cultural and social norms in many African communities also play a role in limiting women’s access to land and resources required to have meaningful involvement in green enterprises. This in turn limits the networks and market access in the green economy. These are not helped by the inadequate amount of gender sensitive policies and legal frameworks required to empower more women in the green sector.
The Role of development partners in empowering women
Development partners play a crucial role in empowering women in the green economy by directly supporting them and promoting policies that enhance their participation. The African Development Bank has initiatives such as the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) has sought to support women-led enterprises by making finance more accessible. The 50 million African Women Speak Platform is another initiative that aims to give women entrepreneurs a platform to address challenges they face. This is an opportunity for issues that women in the green sector face to be identified so that they can be better addressed by policy makers and institutions that can support them. Development partners in Africa, usually in the form of institutions such as the African Union, African Development Bank, international development agencies and UN affiliated agencies, have access to a large pool of networks, personnel, financing and skill sets that are not as readily available to smaller organisations that run the same initiatives. This places them in opportune positions to accelerate the assistance of green enterprises across the continent. Development partners can bring together several actors that are needed to improve the green entrepreneur ecosystem in Africa by enabling the identification and ideation of solutions and organisations of support systems and initiatives geared towards the green economy. These are playing an important role in empowering women to play a more integral and leading role in addressing social and environmental challenges.
Policy Recommendations
To fully leverage the potential of women in the green economy, it is essential to enhance access to climate finance, skills training, green initiatives, and networking opportunities. Additionally, integrating women into decision-making and policy formulation processes will ensure that Africa develops more comprehensive and effective strategies for addressing climate change and promoting sustainable development. This means incorporating gender-sensitive policy development that is designed into national strategies that promote policies that support women’s participation in the green sector. The Egyptian government through its National Council for Women has embarked on a set of gender sensitive policy goals at empowering women’s role in climate adaptation and the green economy by ensuring that policy frameworks can promote mechanisms that support climate finance, capacity building and technological incorporation in empowering women. Legal reforms must address issues such as that of access to land and resources, ownership and inheritance so that women have the opportunities to participate in green economic activities. Policies should promote education and capacity building in areas of STEM and business, supporting green entrepreneurship and vocational training in areas of engineering, science and research so that women can also access higher-end sectors and opportunities in the green economy. Promoting more public and private sector partnerships at local, national, regional and continental level can help strengthen networks, market access for women led enterprises in the green economy. Policy that drives advocacy and awareness of women in the green economy and spotlighting issues they face such as non inclusive social and cultural gender norms or limited access to finance. This can increase the support they have, strengthening the potential for financing, partnerships and support they receive. Pursuing these policies can help address the aforementioned barriers that women currently face in the green economy such and strengthen the existing enablers that are available.
Conclusion
In conclusion, empowering women in Africa’s green economy is not just a matter of equity but a crucial strategy for sustainable development. Women, who already play significant roles in sectors like agriculture and renewable energy, have the potential to drive economic diversification, enhance food security, and foster community resilience to climate change. However, for this potential to be fully realised, systemic barriers such as limited access to education, resources, and market opportunities must be addressed through gender-sensitive policies and supportive frameworks. Development partners, governments, and initiatives must continue to collaborate to create an enabling environment where women can thrive as key players in the green economy. By doing so, Africa can more effectively tackle the climate crisis while promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development across the continent.
Author: Kennedy Simango
Research Analyst
