Windhoek has become the focal point of the global energy debate this week. The Global Africa Hydrogen Summit 2025, taking place from 9 to 11 September, brings together ministers, senior policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs from across Africa, Europe and Asia. With over 1,500 delegates and 150 exhibitors, the event underscores Africa’s growing influence in shaping the future of clean energy.
The agenda is clear, define Africa’s role in the global hydrogen economy, build robust international demand and unlock capital flows for large-scale energy projects. Lowering the cost of capital remains central to Africa’s ambitions. Many projects on the continent remain constrained by high financing costs, despite abundant renewable resources and favourable geography for green hydrogen production.
Entrepreneurs Driving Change
African businesses are seizing the moment. From Namibia to South Africa, Kenya to Morocco, local entrepreneurs are building ventures that position hydrogen as more than an export commodity. These firms are embedding hydrogen solutions into transport, industrial processes and agriculture, ensuring the technology generates value within domestic markets.
In Namibia, startups are aligning with mega-projects backed by European and Asian investors. In South Africa, small enterprises are working with research institutions to design storage and mobility solutions. Moroccan innovators are focusing on hydrogen derivatives such as green ammonia, tapping into both export and regional markets. These entrepreneurs are not only service providers, they are shaping Africa’s competitive edge in a sector where technology leadership is still contested.
- In Namibia, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy is a green hydrogen developer aiming for competitive supply to both regional and international markets. The company is backed by the Namibian government and aligns with national decarbonisation goals hyphenafrica.com.
- South Africa is advancing rapidly in hydrogen R and D. The Vaal University of Technology, supported by Standard Bank, has launched a hydrogen Center of Excellence. This hub underscores the importance of applied research and local value creation.
- In Morocco, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) has partnered with global firms such as Oort Energy and Chariot to bring online a solar-powered electrolyzer. UM6P is also fostering research on green hydrogen derivatives.
- The South African Hive Project, a $5.8 billion facility in Coega, aims to deliver some of the lowest-cost green ammonia globally, targeting exports to Europe and Asia by 2029.
These efforts reflect a shared strategy embedding hydrogen technologies into domestic markets, such as transport, agriculture and heavy industry, rather than treating hydrogen solely as an export commodity.
Investment and Market Dynamics
The summit’s discussions highlight a delicate balance. Africa’s hydrogen ambitions require foreign investment, but long-term competitiveness depends on strengthening local ecosystems. This means developing skills, building supply chains and ensuring small and medium-sized enterprises participate in the value chain.
Blended finance, multilateral guarantees and concessional lending are increasingly seen as essential tools for unlocking billions in capital. For African entrepreneurs, these mechanisms represent an opportunity to scale projects that might otherwise stall at the pilot stage.
According to the Africa Green Hydrogen Report, the continent possesses a historic opportunity. With its vast renewable energy endowments and growing demographic dividend, Africa can tap into green hydrogen to drive industrialisation, energy sovereignty and job creation.
AGHA’s analysis suggests the potential to produce 30–60 million tonnes of hydrogen annually by 2050 fueling GDP growth of $66–$126 billion and generating 2–4 million jobs across its member countries
The Bigger Picture
Hydrogen is more than a new energy vector; it is becoming a lens through which Africa’s development trajectory is being redefined. The sector offers the promise of export revenue, industrialisation and job creation, but only if local businesses are empowered to capture value.
The Global Africa Hydrogen Summit has thus become more than an investment marketplace. It is a stage on which African entrepreneurs, governments and global partners negotiate the future of energy and with it, Africa’s place in the global economy.
