African heads of state have committed to concrete plans for transforming Africa's energy sector following the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Tanzania, with strong support from global partners, the World Bank Group has announced.
Mission 300 is an ambitious initiative to connect 300 million people to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. It ha a goal of accelerating the pace of electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa while ensuring that the transition to more diversified and cleaner sources of energy meets growing demand, brings economic growth, and creates jobs.
The energy Summit emphasized the need for decisive action to accelerate electrification across the continent. “Critical reforms will be needed to expand the share of renewables, improve utility performance, ensure transparency in licensing and power purchase agreements, and establish predictable tariff regimes that reflect production costs. Our collective effort is to support you, heads of state and government, in developing and implementing clear, country-led national energy compacts to deliver on your visions for electricity in your respective countries,” stressed Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group.
He summit came with several commitments from partners. African Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group plan to allocate USD48 billion in financing for Mission 300 through 2030.
While the French partner, Agence Française de Dévelopment (AFD), promised USD1 billion to support energy access in Africa, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) it would provide USD 1 billion to USD1.5 billion to support Mission 300.
Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group also pledged USD2.65 billion in support of Mission 300 and energy access in Africa from 2025-2030. And the OPEC Fund said it would avail USD1 billion in support of Mission 300 and energy access in Africa.
The Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit was hosted by the United Republic of Tanzania, the African Union, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), and the World Bank Group (WBG), with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa.