Africa’s Green Economy Summit 2026 (AGES) opened in Cape Town on February 25 calling upon the continent’s governments, businesses and investors to speed up investments in green and blue economy solutions.
AGES is a premier pan-African platform dedicated to accelerating Africa’s transition to a sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient economy by convening policymakers, financiers, industry leaders and innovators to turn commitments into action.
In his speech, Narend Singh, Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, South Africa, stated that promoting circular business solutions ensures sustainable resource efficiency. He highlighted the need to reduce corporate reliance on virgin raw materials in a world where natural resources are running low and water stress is getting worse.
Industries continue to remove more than ecosystems can replace. So, he stated that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment is actively promoting a Circular Economy model, which emphasises reuse, recycling, and redesign to decouple growth from resource depletion, because industries continue to remove more than ecosystems can replace.
In order to strengthen resilience in economies currently dealing with supply-chain disruptions and climate unpredictability, this is no longer optional, Singh said. Speaking during the summit’s fourth edition to legislators, bankers, project developers, and business executives, he emphasised how critical it is to turn frameworks and policies into effective execution.
“The difficulty is about translation of policies, strategies and frameworks into meaningful action. This is where the rubber hits the road,” Singh said. Closing the skills gap, implementing low-carbon business models, promoting clean technology, and switching from brownfield to greenfield investments are all necessary for achieving sustained progress
The summit’s theme — From Ambition to Action: Scaling Opportunities in Africa’s Green and Blue Solutions — is backed by strong data. Africa’s blue economy, spanning fisheries, marine transport and coastal tourism, already contributes around $300 billion annually to the continent’s GDP and supports 46 million jobs. Yet it remains underdeveloped and underfunded.
At the same time, the green economy — driven by agriculture, renewable energy and low-carbon industries — is projected to unlock $10 trillion in global economic value over the next decade. For Africa’s rapidly growing youth population, the transition could help create an estimated 300 million new jobs. These, speakers stressed, are not distant possibilities. They represent current investment and innovation frontiers.
In his statement, Singh mentioned the flagship initiatives such as South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) as examples of systemic energy reform.
He emphasised that large-scale transformation requires collaboration among investors, academia, industry and government, particularly in preparing a skilled workforce for emerging green sectors.
As South Africa is a water-scarce country facing an escalating water crisis due to climate change, Singh called for sustainable farming practices that enhance productivity and resilience while conserving water, protecting soils and adopting alternative fertilisers.
As an example of innovation on the continent, he mentioned Kenya’s investigation of green fertilisers using green hydrogen, but also pointed out that in order to scale such ideas, commercialisation costs must be addressed.
According to him, the transport sector accounts for 20-25 per cent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, with road transport accounting for the majority of these emissions. He advocated for expanded public transport systems, e-hailing services and small-scale innovations such as e-cargo bikes and greener freight logistics.
With geopolitical headwinds reshaping global trade, the minister urged African nations to strengthen Global South partnerships, leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area and prioritise value addition over raw commodity exports.
He focused on the need for Africa to remain a relevant and competitive player in current and future markets. “A low hanging fruit for Africa is in moving away from the export of primary commodities and instead focusing on the development of value chains and further beneficiation of minerals and other natural resources locally,” Singh said. His views resonate with findings of a recent report, which noted that the continent’s vast mineral reserves are acquiring renewed strategic importance amid shifting global supply chains and the growing demand for energy-transition minerals.
As per Singh, this shift would create space for new and emerging industries, generate much-needed employment opportunities, and accelerate technological advancement and innovation — while also enabling countries to capture higher market value through beneficiated goods rather than raw exports.
“We must continue to pursue low-carbon solutions for business, explore affordable access to finance, and develop and retain critical skills,” he concluded, calling for collective action to secure Africa’s sustainable and competitive future.