Yemisi Izuora
African Governments have been reminded of ominous dark clouds gathering overhead in their energy supply system which has left over 600 million people seeking to be connected to electricity.
This has also profoundly impacted the continent’s economic development and should be addressed.
The World Bank has therefore urged private sector investors to play a pivotal role in achieving its ambitious “Mission 300” initiative, which aims to connect 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria to electricity by 2030.
The initiative is a collaborative effort with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to address the region’s significant energy access gap, where nearly 600 million people 83 per cent of the global unelectrified population lack electricity.
The Bretton Woods Institution said in its report tagged “Mission 300 is Powering Africa” that it has committed to connecting 250 million people, while the AfDB will provide electricity access to an additional 50 million.
To build momentum towards the target, the global lender is implementing large-scale projects such as the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up.
In 2023, the World Bank approved $750m for the DARES project. Focused on Western and Central Africa, the initiative is set to benefit over 17.5 million Nigerians, replacing more than 250,000 diesel generators with cleaner energy solutions.
In Eastern and Southern Africa, the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation programme aims to connect 100 million people in 20 countries and has already launched in Burundi, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, and Tanzania.
The World Bank emphasised that bridging Africa’s energy divide requires the private sector funding to complement public and multilateral financing.
“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 to meet Mission 300 objectives. Businesses must step in and scale up investments in transmission, distribution, and cross-border energy trade.”
Institutions such as the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency are working to create incentives and guarantees that encourage private sector participation in energy projects.
Mission 300 is also leveraging partnerships with regional organisations, including the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, which represents 21 African states.
Through COMESA, the World Bank is establishing a “one-stop shop” regional platform to provide technical assistance, capacity building, and finance aggregation.
This platform will also help countries participating in the ASCENT program prepare bankable and investment-ready projects, it stated.
Philanthropic organisations are stepping in to support the mission. Partners such as The Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Energy for All initiative are mobilizing additional public and private financing to complement resources provided by the World Bank and AfDB.
The World Bank stressed that the initiative aligns with its broader mission to end extreme poverty and foster shared prosperity. “Every step toward Mission 300 also furthers our commitment to creating a livable planet for all,” it added.