Our last webinar for the 2021 series was inspired and rich in content.

The energy sector clearly plays a critical role in supporting the economic performance of industries. It is the bedrock of economic prosperity. It is the foundation of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In Africa, we will not realise the ambitions of the African Union Agenda 2063 or the audacious trade ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement without sustainable supply of clean affordable energy for households and industry.

The continent requires an energy mix tailored to its specific industrialisation ambitions.

The prevailing Energy Revolution is rapidly converging with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and both revolutions are bringing new technologies that are driving change in Africa’s energy ecosystem through:

1. Decarbonising;
2. Decentralisation;
3. Digitisation;
4. Deregulation.

Some of the new technologies do not have value chains yet, and there lies a profound opportunity for industry to collaborate to create value chains that are inclusive from their genesis, so that in the future, we are not financing corrective measures, and such resources can instead be directed to building intellectual property for the continent and from the continent by the continent’s women, youth, people living with disabilities and entrepreneurs at large.

As nations contemplate a balanced decarbonised energy mix tailored for each market’s industrialisation ambitions, there is scope and scale of opportunity for:

• Employment equity,
• Enterprise development,
• Local value chain participation,
• Local IP development,
• Regional integration and collaboration,
• Advancement of women, youth, and people living in disabilities in the Energy Revolution arena.

It is time for transformational leadership that will lead the real transformation trajectory to enable:

• Access to finance for all
• Access to market for all
• Access to technology for all
• Access to skills development for all.

We have to work collaboratively as stakeholders in Africa’s Energy Ecosystem to adequately finance initiatives that are created to support and advance socio economic development.

The Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Strategy launched by the DMRE, Strategic Pillar 4 states:

“And most importantly promoting supportive attitudes, values, behaviours and culture, to support a barrier free workplace and enterprising sector”.

Without these supportive attitudes, women will continue to suffer from lack of access to resources for their effective participation in projects. It is necessary to reflect on this:

• Women and youth empowerment is an economic imperative;
• It increases the labour capacity of a country’s economy;
• Making it more competitive and sustainable;
• Increasing tax revenue capacity (economic activity);
• Reinvested into socio-economic development;
• Securing the future of the country and is citizens;
• Increasing participation within the country’s education ecosystem, expanding the quality and competitiveness of the labour market;
• Results in more productive sectors;
• Leads to home-grown innovations;
• Sets the country on a strong foundation for economic competitiveness and strength;
• Builds the country’s capability and capacity to deal with unpredictable catastrophes such as the current COVID-19 Pandemic.

Our speakers shared their views on the JUST ENERGY TRANSITION, and emerging entrepreneurial opportunities across the energy value chain of generation, distribution and transmission.