Evidence, then design, then money, then an institution.
The African Future Skills Indaba is the founding edition of a continental meeting on how Africa prepares people for green and digital work. Its theme: Rethinking Skills for a Green & Digital Continent.
Most conferences end with a communiqué. This one ends with an institution.
Africa has the world's youngest population and some of its best renewable energy resources, yet captures a small share of the jobs the green and digital transitions create. The gap is not ambition. It is the distance between what education and training systems produce and what employers, governments and investors need.
AFSI 2027 puts that gap on the table with data, then asks the people who can close it to design the fixes, put money behind them and sign their names to them in public. Every session is built to produce something. Fourteen outputs are published under a Creative Commons licence, most within 30 days.
On Day Three, 24 March 2027, the Africa Future Skills Network will be founded, so the work can continue between Indabas: seven Working Groups, a Council and a Youth Council, with every commitment and pledge reported on at 6 and 12 months.
From the first learner to the last pledge.
Youth
The Schools Policy Simulation and Day Zero: learners and student leaders set the agenda first.
Diagnosis
The Evidence Hearing, the Continental Curriculum Audit and five Value Chain Forums.
Design
The Design Charrette, both Global Chambers, the Pathfinders Showcase and named commitments.
Deployment
The Investment Compact, the founding of the Network and the Public Session.
The jobs are coming. The skills are not ready for them.
GreenWorks4Africa Forum briefing (Aug 2026), drawing on IRENA and ILO
GreenWorks4Africa Forum briefing (Aug 2026), drawing on IRENA and ILO
BCG & FSD Africa (2024); IRENA
Morsy & Mukasa, cited by EPRC
IFC/World Bank
The founding edition.
What happens once the Indaba closes.
- The outputs are published; the Network Council meets for the first time; the Youth Council call runs
- Working Groups adopt their work plans; the Youth Council is constituted; Compact follow-ups at 60 and 90 days
- Interim status of every commitment and pledge: fulfilled, on track, delayed or withdrawn; first Value Chain Skills Maps
- The Commitment Accountability Report and the annual Audit update, with the Pathfinders' jobs and placements
- Report-back on every commitment and pledge, and the next host city announced at the 2027 Closing Ceremony
A new Indaba cycle follows every two years.