SAYING YES! TO A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR AFRICAN ENERGY

Guiding the next generation to create their own visions for a more sustainable world

The Youth Energy Summit (YES!) is returning for its second edition at this summer’s Africa Energy Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, as it looks to build on the platform established last year to boost skills, connections and the business readiness of future energy leaders.

The inaugural YES! gathering in Brussels in 2022 emphasised the significance of early career professionals, entrepreneurs, students and educators in accelerating access to reliable energy across Africa. This year, thanks to a growing list of key partnerships across corporates, foundations, NGOs, universities and sector initiatives, YES! will be showcasing its credentials on home soil.

Beyond Privilege

Attendees at this year’s forum will join sessions that explore their perceptions of the future, how they can reach their ages in the energy sector, and what they’re looking for in terms of guidance from educators and professionals. In addition, the event has also set up a new, adjoining platform called YES! Beyond Privilege. The free-to-access digital platform will give thousands a central space to connect and access news during the four-day gathering. However, beyond that, the platform will also serve as a portal for yearround industry news, to discover job opportunities, to engage with regular courses and workshops, and to continue networking beyond the event itself. YES! Beyond Privilege will ensure a longerterm space for hundreds of students, entrepreneurs and young professionals to build on the visions put forward during the four-day gathering.

Abundant Potential

The importance of networking and ongoing collaboration also extends to the partners involved with YES! Among an ever-growing list of partner organisations is the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), who dational partner.

GEAPP is an alliance of philanthropists, local entrepreneurs, governments, technology enablers, policymakers and ing countries’ shifts to a clean energy, pro-growth model that ensures universal energy access as well as economic development. Its aim to reduce four gigatons of future carbon emissions, expand clean energy access to one billion people, and enable 150 million new jobs aligns with the goals of the Africa Energy Forum and YES!

“GEAPP is thrilled to be joining as a foundational partner for the Youth Energy Summit,” says Joseph Ng’ang’a, GEAPP’s VP for Africa. “Young entrepreneurs are often excluded from all aspects of the energy transition value chain, and they face disproportionate barriers to educational opportunities,

He adds: “It is urgent that young people are trained and supported now to access opportunities and accelerate growth. It’s vital to unlock the abundant potential of young entrepreneurs who will lead the energy transition and realise a more equal and sustainable world.”

WORLD’S LARGEST NETWORK

YES! has a goal of reaching 100 million people across Africa over the next 10 years through its network-based approach to upskilling and industry progression.

Simon Gosling, Managing Director,

YES! community present in Nairobi this summer can make vital long-term connections and breakthroughs: “It is no longer helpful to state that 600 million Africans lack access to energy as a statistic of relevance, without addressing the fact that this number is only getting larger as population growth continues its war against energy access.

“By building an all-of-sector alliance to establish the world’s largest network of potential African energy developers, entrepreneurs and MSMEs, YES! will speed up the pace of energy access for millions more people across the continent.”