By Oluyinka Onigbinde
GreenPath Africa, a pan-African nonprofit organisation focused on advancing careers in clean energy, sustainability and climate action, has announced plans to host the 2026 Climate Careers Festival (CCF), aimed at connecting at least 500 young professionals and students with employment opportunities in Nigeria’s growing climate sector.
The one-day event is scheduled to hold on September 29, 2026, at the International Conference Centre of the University of Ibadan.
According to the organisers, the festival will provide participants with direct access to employers, internship opportunities, entry-level job placements, mentorship sessions and panel discussions designed to bridge the widening gap between qualified young Nigerians and available opportunities in the climate and clean energy industries.
GreenPath Africa said the initiative seeks to demonstrate that graduates and professionals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds already possess transferable skills that can be applied across the climate sector, including renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, climate finance and environmental sustainability.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GreenPath Africa, Ayobami Adedinni, said the festival was conceived in response to the limited employment pathways available to young people seeking careers in climate-related industries.
“We built CCF because young Nigerians interested in climate and energy work keep running into the same wall of plenty of ambition with very few doors that actually open,” Adedinni said.
He explained that unlike conventional networking events, the Climate Careers Festival has been designed to facilitate actual recruitment, with participating organisations expected to offer internship and entry-level placement opportunities during the event.
“This isn’t a networking event where people collect business cards and go home. Companies are showing up with actual placement slots. That’s the whole point,” he added.
The organisers also highlighted Africa’s significant renewable energy potential, noting that although the continent possesses more than 60 per cent of the world’s best solar resources, it accounted for only about two per cent of the global renewable energy workforce in 2023.
GreenPath Africa said the festival forms part of its broader mission to strengthen Africa’s climate workforce and ensure that more young Africans are equipped to participate in the continent’s energy transition.
The organisation, which commenced operations in January 2026, currently has members across 25 African countries and focuses on connecting professionals, students, entrepreneurs and investors within Africa’s clean energy and sustainability ecosystem
