Tackling youth unemployment using the blue economy
Experts say it can be resolved using one of the continent's most overlooked economic levers, the blue economy.
Teboho Makhabane, Head of ESG and Impact at Sanlam Investments, discusses the opportunities.
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Scaling up climate and energy finance is not only urgent, but also central to closing the infrastructure gap, addressing energy poverty, and driving structural transformation and industrialisation," Ramokgopa said. "We must shift from pledges to execution, from fragmented flows to coordinated and catalytic investment." Ramokgopa underscored the dire necessity to address systemic underinvestment in transmission, distribution, and generation capacity. He advocated for a financing structure that ensures long-term affordability, particularly for vulnerable and energy-poor communities. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Ramokgopa also highlighted the importance of expanding access to concessional and blended finance for early-stage and localised energy projects, prioritising small and medium enterprises in the energy value chain. So far, South Africa has secured pledges totalling up to $12.8 billion from international partners, with over $760 million earmarked for grant funding. Recently, the country entered into a $474m loan agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) along with a €500 million arrangement with the German Cooperation via KFW Development Bank, both crucial for funding the JET initiatives. However, Ramokgopa cautioned that renewable energy sources alone - particularly in regions with variable resources, legacy baseload infrastructure, or limited grid flexibility - were insufficient to satisfy all system requirements. 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