As part of efforts to promote and motivate youth-led businesses in the clean energy sector, the Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND) is urging the government to reserve at least 10 percent of all solar energy and clean cooking procurements for youth-led businesses.
SYND-Ghana believes that this approach is a practical step to boost local innovation and accelerate Ghana’s clean energy goals.
At a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday under its Youth in Natural Resources and Environmental Governance (Youth-NREG) Platform, the Executive Coordinator for SYND-Ghana, Chibeze Ezekiel, argued that young entrepreneurs are already building some of the most impactful renewable and clean cooking solutions in communities; however, they continue to receive little recognition and almost no structured support.
They believe that committing a fixed share of public procurement to youth-owned businesses will help scale their work, create more jobs, and strengthen the country’s drive toward universal energy access.
SYND-Ghana further pointed to the upcoming procurement of 1,450 Solar Home Systems under the Scaling Up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) as a clear and immediate window for implementing this proposal.
Chibeze Ezekiel added that their Young Green Entrepreneurs programme is ready to help the government identify qualified youth-led companies and provide technical support to ensure delivery.
“Government must be intentional in boosting the businesses of young entrepreneurs by establishing a clear policy that assigns 10% of all solar energy and clean cooking procurement to youth-led businesses,” he stated.
He further emphasized that, “A clear window to execute this is the 1,450 Solar Home Systems (SHS) to be procured under the Scaling Up Renewable Energy Programme in Ghana (SREP). SYND, through its Young Green Entrepreneurs (YGE) programme, can offer support in implementing this policy proposal.”
Young Entrepreneurs Must Be Co-Creators of Energy Access
To further help the cause of the youth and also the Mission 300 Programme, SYND is emphasizing that youth innovators are not just beneficiaries of the energy transition; they are creators of affordable solar devices, clean cookstoves, and briquettes that help households cut energy costs and reduce emissions.
They are urging the government to formally recognize these contributions and support the businesses that make them possible.
According to the group, helping these entrepreneurs grow is essential to meeting the Mission 300 agenda and ensuring no community is left behind.
Youth Participation Shouldn’t Be Optional
The group stressed that job creation sits at the heart of the Mission 300 programme, yet young people remain largely absent in the planning and implementation of Ghana’s Energy Compact.
They argue that involving the youth is not only in line with Ghana’s National Youth Policy but is also practical because the energy sector is expected to create thousands of new opportunities in the coming years.
SYND insists that young people must be part of shaping these opportunities from the beginning.
The Bottomline
SYND is also proposing that youth representation be institutionalized across public energy utilities.
They believe having young people at the decision table will help bring fresh ideas, improve accountability, and ensure that policies truly respond to the needs of the next generation.
“Youth representation in public energy utilities must also be institutionalized,” Chibeze rallied.
The group wants the government to adopt deliberate and measurable policies that bring young innovators into the center of Ghana’s clean energy transition.
They insist that assigning a 10% procurement quota, involving young people in Compact implementation, and ensuring their presence in public energy institutions will create stronger businesses, more jobs, and faster progress toward universal energy access.
