African renewables sector sees job boom

From the newsletter

The Renewables Rising job tracker for the top ten energy companies shows they collectively hired 286 new staff in the past year, bringing their total combined workforce to 1,626 employees. This data is based on analyses of senior staff profiles on LinkedIn. The overall African renewables market saw 388 open roles over the last month.

• New roles are predominantly based in South Africa, which accounted for almost half of the open jobs. Major companies operating in the country, like Mulilo Energy, Scatec, and EDF Renewables, dominated hiring.

• The top ten companies we track in detail added 26 new staff members in June, 20 fewer than May hires. Norway-based energy developer Scatec continued its dominance, accounting for half the new hires for the third consecutive month.

More details

• Scatec has established itself as a leader in renewable energy in Africa. The company has secured major renewable energy projects across the continent. In Egypt this week, it signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for a 900 MW wind project and won a bid to supply 492 MWh of battery storage in South Africa. The company hired 156 staff in the last year, bringing its total to 481.

• Mulilo Energy, which is backed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), has established itself as a major player in the South African renewable energy market. It secured significant projects in South Africa's battery storage bids. The company has hired 64 new staff, bringing its total to 147. Over the last month, it rolled out advertisements for more than 10 roles.

• CrossBoundary Group hired 11 staff in the last year and has an open role for a construction manager in Sierra Leone. Its mini-grids platform, CrossBoundary Access, expanded its operations outside Nigeria to Madagascar and partnered with ANKA to build a $20 million mini-grid portfolio. The company is expected to hire staff in the country as operations kick off.

• EDF Renewables opened hiring for more than 10 roles, all of which are in South Africa. These roles are mainly in project management. The company has a portfolio of 142 MW of projects in operation, 1,500 MW under construction, and targets 3,000-5,000 MW of installations by 2030.

• Sunking continues its hiring spree having opened more than 50 roles over the last month. The company last month secured $80 million in funding, which explains its hiring expansion. Its roles are spread across Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Cameroon, Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania.

• Solar Panda, a solar home system company that has mainly been operating from Kenya, expanded to Senegal and Zambia. It acquired Vitalite Zambia, which has been fully operating in Zambia for 13 years. It rolled out advertisements for more than six people in Senegal.

• Neosun, which expanded to Kenya earlier in the year, had twelve open roles: two in Kenya and ten in South Africa. In Kenya, it is looking for a Head of Branch and a Head of Sales as it looks to establish itself in Kenya's solar market.

Our take

• The renewables sector in Africa is experiencing a job boom driven by recent project developments and funding announcements. This growth is further supported by the implementation of improved policies in key countries such as South Africa, Ghana, Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco, which are making it easier for investors to enter the market.

• As many African nations under Mission 300 continue to refine their policies and regulations, we anticipate an even greater surge in private sector involvement.

• To meet the evolving demands of this expanding sector, African countries must prioritise reskilling and training their workforce in emerging areas, particularly for battery energy storage experts. These projects are becoming increasingly common and will require a skilled labour force.