At COP28 in Dubai, governments formally committed to tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030, a landmark agreement that signalled a shift from ambition to acceleration. At the same time, the International Energy Agency and the World Bank have reiterated that nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to electricity, the largest energy access deficit in the world.
For Ethiopia, where energy access and agricultural productivity remain closely linked, the stakes of this transition are particularly high.
Energy access shapes agricultural productivity, food systems, manufacturing capacity, digital inclusion, and employment. The second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa reinforced the continent’s determination to shape its own green growth pathway.
The message emerging from Addis was clear: Africa’s climate agenda is inseparable from its economic agenda.
The workforce behind the transition
Globally, women account for only about 32 per cent of the renewable energy workforce, and they remain concentrated largely in non-technical roles. Meanwhile, women make up nearly half of Africa’s agricultural labour force. The sectors most dependent on reliable power, including food production and processing, remain disconnected from the technical workforce powering the transition.
This disconnect has economic consequences.
Solar irrigation systems, mini-grids, cold storage units, and processing equipment do not generate impact simply because they are installed. They generate impact when they are maintained, repaired quickly, and integrated into functioning local markets.
Across Ethiopia, women are already operating at the heart of that technical ecosystem. In the country’s medium-voltage and distribution sectors, women-led enterprises are supervising installations, commissioning transformers, and strengthening electrical infrastructure. Their presence demonstrates a critical reality: the technical talent exists. What is missing is not capability, but the systems, procurement pathways and investment structures needed to scale it.
From climate targets to economic returns
Global climate finance discussions increasingly emphasise the importance of “bankable projects” and long-term returns. More than USD 33 billion has been mobilised globally to advance women’s economic participation, reflecting growing recognition that gender-inclusive investment strengthens markets. Yet the returns on renewable infrastructure depend on local technical ecosystems.
If renewable capacity is tripled but maintenance capacity remains thin, downtime rises. If local enterprises cannot access procurement pathways, scaling slows. If half the talent pool remains underrepresented in technical roles, productivity gains are diluted.
Investing in women’s technical capacity strengthens the performance of renewable systems. It shortens repair cycles. It stabilises agribusiness operations. It keeps skills, income, and employment within domestic economies.
In agribusiness value chains, reliable energy means irrigation during dry seasons, refrigeration for dairy and poultry, milling operations that reduce post-harvest losses, and cold storage that extends shelf life. These are not marginal gains. They shape food security, export competitiveness, and rural incomes.
The energy transition is therefore not only about emissions. It is about efficiency.
Networks as economic infrastructure
Recent policy debates on green industrialisation and domestic value creation highlight a recurring theme: Africa must build internal capability, not simply import infrastructure.
This is where professional networks led by and for women play a catalytic role.
In Ethiopia, women working in the energy sector increasingly rely on structured professional networks to navigate procurement systems, financing pathways, and policy spaces that can otherwise feel closed.
Meron Muktar, who leads a technical enterprise in Ethiopia’s medium-voltage and distribution sector, has seen this firsthand. While her daily work involves supervising installations and commissioning transformers, she is clear that technical expertise alone is not enough to unlock scale.
Networks such as Ethiopian Women in Energy are strengthening mentorship, collaboration, and visibility for women working across the energy value chain. These networks connect engineers, consultants, entrepreneurs, and managers. They facilitate peer learning and create structured pathways into policy engagement and procurement access. The result is not symbolic inclusion. It is an expanding base of technical and commercial capability.
When one woman successfully navigates financing, others gain insight. When technical expertise is amplified collectively, credibility shifts. When women gain access to decision-making spaces, sector governance improves. Skills multiply through networks. Markets expand through collaboration. Economic participation scales beyond individual achievement.
In a continent where 600 million people still lack electricity, such multipliers are strategic.
A strategic imperative
If the coming decade truly delivers a rapid expansion of renewable energy, the question is no longer whether Africa will build new infrastructure. It is whether the continent will also build the workforce capable of sustaining it. Ensuring that women are at the centre of that technical workforce is not simply a matter of representation. It is a strategic investment in the resilience, productivity, and long-term returns of Africa’s energy transition.
Kiber Belay is a Communications Officer at Ethiopian Women in Energy. Filagot Tesfaye is an Energy Consultant at On Energy Consult and Trading.
Contributed by Kiber Belay & Filagot Tesfaye
