Empowering 300 Million: How DFIs Are Transforming African Energy by 2030

The World Bank Group, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and other development partners have pledged to give 300 million Africans access to power by 2030 in an effort to combat energy poverty across the continent.

The partnership is backed by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), which have pledged $10 million to provide technical assistance for electricity projects in Nigeria and ten other African nations while boosting projects within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

The project, called Mission 300 (M300), intends to use state-of-the-art technology and creative funding to close the continent's enormous power gap.

This occurs at a time when almost 600 million Africans lack access to electricity, accounting for an astounding 83% of the world's energy-deprived population.

At the first-ever Africa Heads of State Energy Summit, 30 heads of state—five of whom are from outside Africa—have joined 1,500 other attendees, including representatives from the private sector, and they will pledge to undertake an ambitious initiative to provide energy to 300 million Africans by 2030.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank, emphasized that without power, no economy could develop, industrialize, or remain competitive.

"This collaboration is revolutionary for the advancement of Africa." The G7 and G20 support Mission 300, which will be introduced at the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in 2024," he stated.

To change the energy industry, African governments must make commitments and take reform measures.
Additionally, it would emphasize the achievements of the energy sector in a few chosen nations, form a coalition of industry participants to speed up investments in energy infrastructure, and fortify regional power planning, market trade, and policy frameworks.

The endeavor will facilitate the execution of the African Single Electricity Market and the Continental Master Plan.

"We need action from governments, financing from multilateral development banks, and investment from the private sector," emphasized World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, in order to achieve success.

It is anticipated that 43 million connections will be made available through the AfDB's present portfolio and pipeline of energy projects.