An ambitious plan to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030, supported by an initial $30 billion commitment from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, is now underway, with assessments of the first potential beneficiaries already in progress, Bloomberg reported.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), more than 600 million Africans remain without access to electricity, leaving the continent with the lowest energy access rate in the world, hovering at just over 43%.
On Friday, leading climate organizations, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Alliance for People and Planet, and Sustainable Energy for All, announced the launch of a technical assistance facility as part of the Mission 300 initiative.
This facility will assess projects and help secure funding for qualifying ventures, to raise $90 billion or more from various sources to support the program’s mission.
“Every project starts with a single payment,” Rajiv Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, said in a response to questions. “The technical assistance facility is designed to help the World Bank and African Development Bank jump start their ambitious electrification plans throughout sub-Saharan Africa.”
Africa accounts for nearly three-quarters of the world’s population without access to electricity, with countries like South Sudan, Burundi, and Chad having electrification rates below 12%. This severe lack of power stifles productivity and constrains economic growth in some of the poorest countries globally.
“We’ve seen, frankly, stagnation” in getting electricity to more Africans over the last 15 years, Ashvin Dayal, who heads the Rockefeller Foundation’s power and climate program, told Bloomberg. “This is for us the defining climate and development challenge for the continent over the next 20 years.”
To address this, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), which it co-founded with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Ikea Foundation in 2021, have committed an initial $10 million.
This funding will support 15 projects across 11 African countries, including Burkina Faso and Mozambique, with a focus on delivering clean energy solutions through technologies like mini-grids, according to a statement from the groups.
