Business leaders and policy makers from several African countries are set to converge in Berlin Germany this October to explore opportunities in renewable energy in support of much needed infrastructural development and youth employment. The international seminar on Investment Opportunities in Renewable Energy to take place from Oct 4-8 is already attracting strong interests from Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria, among several other countries. At a time the world is experiencing a wave of environmental disasters, analysts believe investment in renewable is an opportunity whose time has come.

According to Emmanuel Emielu, who is Chief Executive of one of the organising companies, we must invest in developing the entrepreneurial and skills base needed to achieve a massive diffusion of renewable energy technology in Nigeria and across Africa. He added that it is entrepreneurs that create jobs and drive investments in technology. But in a country known more for its import dependency than R&D and manufacturing, we stand the risk of ending up with a generation of importer renewable energy business men thereby making Africa yet another dumping ground for all manner of sub-standard Renewable Energy gadgets.

 

Organised by Renewables Academy AG of Germany and its West African partner, Oil & Gas Soft Skills, the executive seminar will help participants understand the technical, operational, and business dimensions of this very important but emerging industry. They will learn to identify possible areas of business opportunity for further pursuit including the peculiar requirements for the finance, insurance, and management of renewable energy projects.

Emielu, who is also a member of the African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA), explained that the seminar will serve to raise a crop of well informed policy makers, business leaders and technologists who are capable and ready to contribute to capacity building in renewable energy enterprises in Nigeria and Africa.

He added that for the most part, we are yet to build requisite human capacity for economic development in spite of our huge population base. And this has been the cause of many failed national content programmes by most African countries despite the vigorous government policies in support. Renewable Energy development may well go the same way except there is a massive attention to entrepreneurial education and skills development, he warned.

CONTACTS:

OGS – Emmanuel Emielu eemielu@og-softskills.com; +234(0)8033084541; www.og-softskills.com

RENAC – Markus Maus maus@renac.de +49-30-526 895 8 – 84; www.renac.de/en