Yemisi Izuora
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (Global Energy Alliance) and the World Bank Group have announced a new partnership to support the productive use of energy across Africa through a regional Center of Excellence based in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Center will provide knowledge and capacity building to help countries strengthen the economic impact of electrification by better linking electricity access with agriculture, small enterprises and other productive activities that can increase incomes, create jobs and strengthen local economies.
Africa has made significant progress expanding electricity access over the past decade, but hundreds of millions of people still lack access. Mission 300, an initiative led by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, Sustainable Energy for All and Global Energy Alliance, aims to connect 300 million more people to electricity by 2030. More than 45 million people have already been connected to electricity since July 2023.
“This new Center of Excellence will be instrumental in helping countries unleash the full promise of Mission 300,” said *Dana Rysankova, Lead Energy Specialist at the World Bank Group*. “Greater promotion and adoption of productive uses of energy will complement household connections to lift people out of energy poverty, improve livelihoods, and create economic opportunities and jobs.”
As access expands, the next challenge is ensuring that electricity supports livelihoods and economic activity across households, businesses and communities. Across many countries, energy consumption remains limited to basic needs such as lighting and phone charging. Without stronger links to productive activities, energy demand remains low, energy systems remain underutilized and costs remain high. This weakens project economics and limits investment at scale.
Efforts to advance productive use of energy often remain fragmented and insufficiently connected to sectors such as agriculture, small enterprise, healthcare and education, where energy access can drive meaningful gains in income, productivity and resilience.
“Expanding access to electricity is only the beginning. What matters is what that energy makes possible in people’s lives,” said *Makena Ireri, Managing Director of Powering Opportunity, Global Energy Alliance*. “When a farmer can process and store crops, or a small business can power equipment and grow, energy access becomes economic opportunity. This partnership will help strengthen the links between electrification, agriculture and enterprise so that energy access translates into more jobs, growing incomes and stronger local economies.”
The new partnership will address these gaps by supporting governments and development partners to integrate productive use of energy into national electrification planning and implementation, while strengthening links between energy access and key economic sectors. It will also improve coordination across public and private partners to help scale productive use initiatives across countries.
Areas of collaboration will include technical assistance, knowledge sharing, coordination across partners, and support for businesses and local market development. The work will also support implementation through the Mission 300 National Energy Compacts and Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units (CDMUs) in participating countries.
The initiative will focus on four core areas: supporting delivery through embedded technical expertise within National Energy Compacts; developing practical tools, data and knowledge products for policymakers, investors and practitioners; strengthening coordination across funding, programs and investment pipelines; and supporting businesses through improved access to finance and market opportunities.
Through this approach, the partnership aims to strengthen national programs that reach smallholder farmers, MSMEs and underserved communities. It will also generate open-access knowledge, strengthen market linkages and build capacity within governments and delivery institutions across more than 20 countries. By leveraging National Energy Compacts and CDMUs, the partnership will strengthen delivery, improve coordination and help translate electrification into measurable economic outcomes.