Africans, soon to be the world’s largest workforce, have an opportunity to transform their region into a global economic powerhouse—provided they have access to modern power.
Currently, about 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity. This forces them to rely on firewood and charcoal or expensive and polluting generators to cook, stay warm, and keep the lights on in their homes and businesses.
Turning on the switch for more Africans, either through connections to the electricity grid or distributed renewable energy solutions such as mini-grids powered by solar panels and stand-alone solar installations, could be transformational for people’s well-being, protecting forests, and all facets of the region’s economy. This is why at the 2024 Spring Meetings, the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank launched an ambitious effort to connect at least 300 million people in Africa with electricity access by 2030. That promise, known as “Mission 300,” is now galvanizing development partners and building momentum in Africa and beyond.
Here are five essential things to know about this bold effort:
1. Accelerating access to modern energy is essential. Africa is home to nearly 83 percent of the world’s unelectrified population. Lack of affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy holds back people and businesses. To put Africans on a more prosperous course, the pace of electrification needs to triple. Widespread electricity would also strengthen the region’s climate adaptation and resilience by improving the functionality of critical emergency services such as hospitals and shelters and promoting climate-resilient agriculture via solar irrigation systems, refrigeration, and food processing facilities.
2. Momentum is already growing. As part of the initiative, the World Bank Group has committed to connect 250 million people to electricity while the African Development Bank will connect an additional 50 million. World Bank Group investments are already building momentum towards the Mission 300 goal. In Eastern and Southern Africa, for instance, the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) program aims to connect 100 million people in 20 countries. It has already kicked off in Burundi, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, and Tanzania with more countries eager to join this first wave. In Western and Central Africa, the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project will benefit over 17.5 million Nigerians or 20 percent of the country’s currently unserved population while replacing over 250,000 polluting and expensive diesel generators. The new Regional Emergency Solar Power Intervention Project (RESPITE), covering Chad, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo also focuses on increasing electricity access for millions of consumers by boosting grid-connected renewable energy capacity regional interconnections transmission efforts support regional cooperation programs support West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) making possible supply cheaper reliable electricity sub-region.
3. The private sector is central to filling funding gaps. Estimates vary but electrifying Africa will require a lot more financing than what development banks alone can supply making massive private investment crucial meet Mission objectives Businesses must step scale up investments transmission distribution cross-border energy trade Institutions like International Finance Corporation Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency within World Bank Group collaborating provide better incentives guarantees companies operating space
4 Regional partners key success addition partnering African Development Bank Mission building strong relationships regional institutions example partnering Common Market Eastern Southern Africa COMESA brings together African states create one-stop shop regional platform platform provide countries participating ASCENT program access technical assistance capacity building aggregated mobilization finance streamlined procurement knowledge-sharing collaboration platform helps prepare projects bankable investment ready
5 Philanthropies eager support Mission philanthropy partners Rockefeller Foundation United Nations’ Sustainable Energy All initiative mobilizing public private financing increase complement World Bank Group African Development Bank resources topic intense conversations sidelines session United Nations General Assembly
This momentum most welcome every step brings closer achieving Mission furthers larger World Bank mission end extreme poverty boost shared prosperity livable planet
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