Promoting Youth Employment in the Green Economy

Conflict, natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic have particularly affected young people in Northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado region. Youth in Cabo Delgado experience social exclusion and unemployment. Economic opportunities and prospects are scarce. The Afro-Barometer has identified youth investment to be the absolute priority, followed by job training, education, social service and business loans.

Access to energy is a concern especially for rural communities. While Mozambique has undertaken significant efforts to expand the energy grid, progress is lagging behind for rural areas where only 5% of the population have access to energy. Investment in renewables, especially solar energy solutions has grown in the past years, in Mozambique, and is predicted to grow further in the coming years. 

The Puma Energy Foundation is partnering with Young Africa to support its programme in the Cabo Delgado region. The project comprises education, training, and awareness creation activities to support disadvantaged youth while strengthening the country's growing solar energy sector. In order to target rural areas, Young Africa introduced an innovative mobile training unit to teach youth the necessary skills to become solar technicians or electricians. These mobile training centers will be deployed to especially hard to reach areas in Cabo Delgado. 

Over the next two years (from 2023 to 2025), the project will work with 140 unemployed youth in Mozambique helping them to secure gainful employment in the green energy sector. In addition to vocational training and job skilling, youth who participate in programme receive postgraduation support services such as internship opportunities, establishing connections with future employers, or options for self-employment. 

The project will also launch a solar energy campaign to educate the wider community. We expect to reach 4,000 people raising awareness on how to identify quality solar products for households and how to increase the longevity and efficiency of those products.

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Photo credit: Young Africa International