The African Paradox: Sustainable Development Goal 7 and Energy in Africa

The African paradox is a troublesome dialogue. Africa holds such richness and abundance of resources; however, it is plagued with energy poverty. This paper explores how Africa can improve its SDG 7 initiatives to meet energy demands and ensure sustainability. A thorough desk research was conducted using comparative analysis and purposive sampling. Springer, EBSCO, and Google Scholar were used as search engines. With Africa being the least electrified region, immense pressure is being placed on the United Nations SDG targets. This creates an opportunity for the education sector to promote sustainable development. The paper highlights the need for action-orientated changes in African renewable energy policies and emphasises the importance of increased investments in research, entrepreneurship, engineering education, management, financial, and global partnerships. Furthermore, various strategies to employ renewable energy must be considered, such as community ownership of renewable energy projects. Local initiatives will be enriching and more profitable. Recommendations for the future would be to raise awareness by conducting research-based studies and educational initiatives to increase awareness of the importance of sustainability in Africa, reevaluate energy policies, that is, review and reconsider energy policies regarding privatisation and government disinvestment from public funds, and explore share economies. Drawing from an entrepreneurship engineering perspective and framed within the context of Agenda 2063, this paper provides a unique, comprehensive view of the African energy crisis, distinguishing itself from existing literature.