The green hydrogen economy offers synthetic green energy with significant impacts and is environmentallyfriendly compared to current fossil-based fuels. Exploration of green hydrogen energy in Southern Africa isstill in the initial stages in many low-resourced settings aiming to benefit from sustainable green energy. Atthis early stage, potential benefits to society are yet to be understood. That is why the socio-economic impactof green hydrogen energy must be explored. This paper reviews the current literatures to describe the po-tential socio-economic effects in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The review sup-ports the view that green hydrogen will be beneficial and have great potential to revolutionise agriculturaland industrial sectors, with advanced sustainable changes for both production and processing. This paperalso examines how sustainable green hydrogen energy production in Southern Africa will provide economicvalue in the energy export sector around the world and support climate change initiatives. Further, it discussesthe impacts of the green hydrogen value addition chain and the creation of green jobs, as well as the needfor corresponding investments and policy reforms. It is also noted that the green hydrogen economy cancontribute to job losses in fossil fuel-based industries, so that the workforce there may need re-skilling to takeup green jobs. Such exchanges may deter efforts towards poverty alleviation and economic growth in SADC.