By Lakshmi Thor
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania | 3 February 2025 (IDN) — Ahead of the African Union Summit on 17-18 February in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, thirty African Heads of State and government have committed to concrete reforms and actions to expand access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity to power economic growth, improve quality of life, and drive job creation across the continent.
As part of Mission 300—an ambitious initiative to connect 300 million people to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030—they pledged in a declaration during the two-day Africa Energy Summit in the Tanzanian commercial capital, Dar es Salaam on 28 January more than $50 billion in support of increasing energy access across Africa.
The Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration epitomises a key milestone in addressing the energy gap in Africa, where more than 600 million people currently live without electricity. The commitments in the Declaration are a critical piece of the Mission 300 initiative, which unites governments, development banks, partners, philanthropies, and the private sector. The Declaration will e submitted to the African Union Summit for adoption.
By focusing on the fundamental challenge of energy access, Mission 300 serves as the cornerstone of the jobs agenda for Africa’s growing youth population and the foundation for future development.
Twelve countries—Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia—presented detailed National Energy Compacts that set targets to scale up electricity access, increase the use of renewable energy and attract additional private capital.
These country-specific plans are time-bound, rooted in data, endorsed at the highest level and focus on affordable power generation, expanding connections, and regional integration. They aim to boost utility efficiency, attract private investment, and expand clean cooking solutions. Deploying satellite and electronic mapping technologies, these compacts identify the most cost-effective solutions to bring electricity to underserved areas.
The Summit partners announced a series of commitments:
African Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group plan to allocate $48 billion in financing for Mission 300 through 2030, which may evolve to fit implementation needs.
Agence Francaise de Development (AFD): €1 billion to support energy access in Africa.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): $1 billion to $1.5 billion to support Mission 300
Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group: $2.65 billion in support of Mission 300 and energy access in Africa from 2025-2030
OPEC Fund: An initial commitment of $1 billion in support of Mission 300 with additional financing to follow
World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group launched Zafiri, an investment company that supports private sector-led solutions, such as renewable mini-grids and solar home systems. Zafiri anchor partners will invest up to $300 million in the first phase and mobilize up to $1 billion to address the persistent equity gap in Africa in these markets.
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, ESMAP, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Photo: 30 African leaders convene Energy Summit. Source: African Development Bank.