AI platform to fast-track women, youth into Kenya's green jobs

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A new AI-powered platform is set to connect women and young Kenyans to jobs in the country's fast-growing green economy.

The Digital Matching Platform, developed under German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and career technology firm Fuzu Ltd, targets Kenya's green economy through the Employment Promotion for Women for the Green Transformation in Africa (WE4D) programme.

It connects job seekers to opportunities in renewable energy, circular economy, sustainable agriculture, waste management and eco-tourism, sectors that have historically shut women out despite driving Africa's economic future.

Kenya absorbs about one million new entrants into its labour market each year. Women face the steepest barriers, cut off from green sector networks, career information and fair hiring processes that men more often take for granted.

The platform launched in Nairobi this month, with private sector representatives from Sentec Limited, Sanivation Limited, Kenya Green Building Society, the Electricity Sector Association of Kenya (ESAK) and the Association of Women in Energy and Extractives in Kenya (AWEIK) welcoming its promise of faster, bias-free recruitment.

"Africa's employment challenge cannot be solved with small, fragmented solutions. What is needed are scalable platforms that can reach millions and adapt to rapidly changing labour markets," said Jussi Hinkkanen, chief executive of Fuzu Ltd.

The platform runs on a mobile-first model designed for users with limited digital access.

It offers personalised job alerts, skills assessments, learning content and career coaching. Employers, in turn, gain merit-based recruitment tools and talent analytics, alongside support to adopt gender-responsive hiring.

Thomas Jaeschke, WE4D team leader at GIZ, framed women's inclusion not as charity but as a precondition for the green transition to work at all.

"The green transformation will only succeed if women are fully included as skilled workers, professionals, and leaders," said Jaeschke.

"With the Digital Matching Platform, we are not only creating access to jobs but also improving the quality of employment and supporting companies to become more gender-responsive and sustainable."

Beyond job matching, the initiative bundles vocational training, mentorship for women and tailored support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The platform also tracks outcomes over time, enabling evidence-based decisions on future scaling across sectors and countries.

The programme runs for two years and is commissioned by the German government