ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Africa’s plan to provide electricity to 300 million people by 2030 has attracted about $1.4bn in co-financing from international development partners, reflecting growing global support for the continent’s largest-ever energy access initiative.
An analysis of the Mission 300 Progress Report showed that external financiers have committed $1.4bn to projects under the initiative since it was launched in 2024.
The funding comes as the World Bank and the African Development Bank step up efforts to expand electricity access across Africa through new investments, regional power integration and reforms designed to attract private sector participation.
According to the report, the European Investment Bank is the largest co-financier of the programme, contributing $347m, nearly one-quarter of the total external funding secured so far.
The African Development Bank follows with a commitment of $161m, while the Green Climate Fund has pledged $129m.
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Other major contributors include the Government of Italy with $117m and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank with $100m.
The report also showed that Trust Funds contributed $84m, the French Agency for Development committed $82m, while the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program provided $77m.
The OPEC Fund and the European Commission completed the list of top financiers with contributions of $60m and $54m respectively.
It noted that these figures represent co-financing for World Bank Group operations only and exclude the African Development Bank’s direct financing commitments under Mission 300.
Mission 300, launched by the World Bank and the African Development Bank in 2024, aims to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030.
The initiative is regarded as the largest coordinated effort to address energy poverty in a continent that accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the estimated 570 million people worldwide without access to electricity.
Data contained in the report indicated that financing commitments across the broader energy portfolio have increased significantly since the programme began.
In the 2024 fiscal year, total financing commitments reached $4.6bn, comprising $2.8bn for energy access programmes, $1.8bn for other energy projects and about $200m in co-financing.
For the 2025 fiscal year, total commitments stood at $4bn, including $1bn for energy access, $2.4bn for the broader energy portfolio and $600m in co-financing.
Current commitments for the 2026 fiscal year amount to $1.5bn, comprising $900m for energy access, $500m for other energy projects and $100m in co-financing.
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The report further revealed that more than 50 million people have already gained access to electricity through the programme since its launch.
Meanwhile, the World Bank and the African Development Bank have announced plans to accelerate implementation of the initiative this year by approving new projects, expanding investments into Eritrea and promoting regional electricity markets through interconnected power systems.
According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, the programme is expected to attract tens of billions of dollars in investment to achieve its target of 300 million electricity connections by 2030, while encouraging African governments to implement power sector reforms capable of attracting private investment.
Speaking on the initiative’s progress, the World Bank’s Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde, said reforms undertaken by participating countries were beginning to produce results.
“The momentum that we’ve been working on is starting to pay off,” Bjerde said in an interview. She added, “Governments have to double down on reforms because nothing flows in an area where there’s uncertainty. There’s no investment flowing to uncertainty.”
According to her, 36 African countries have already developed electricity access compacts under the programme, with the number expected to exceed 40 this year.
The African Development Bank’s Vice-President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, Kevin Kariuki, said the bank plans to approve projects that will provide electricity access to as many as 15 million people this year.
Among them is a $59m mini-grid project in Eritrea, one of Africa’s least electrified countries.
“Some bragging rights are in order. We are currently the most active multilateral development bank in Eritrea,” Kariuki said. “It is in countries where there is almost nothing that transformation can be most visible.”
The initiative is also expanding its support for off-grid electricity through a $176m investment platform known as Zafiri, which was established to acquire equity stakes in companies providing off-grid energy.
The platform is expected to make its first investments this year.
Beyond national projects, both development banks are increasingly focusing on strengthening regional electricity markets through interconnected power systems.
“We’re really back into power pools,” Bjerde said. “If Africa can get these pools to work, you can lower costs across borders and take advantage of countries with surpluses.”
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The increasing volume of co-financing commitments highlights growing confidence among development institutions that Africa’s electricity deficit can be addressed through public investment, policy reforms and private sector participation.
For Nigeria and other African countries facing persistent electricity shortages, Mission 300 presents one of the continent’s biggest opportunities in decades to expand electricity access, support industrialisation and stimulate economic growth.
According to the World Bank, limited electricity access remains one of the greatest barriers to development in sub-Saharan Africa, where millions of households and businesses continue to depend on expensive and polluting energy alternatives because of inadequate grid infrastructure.
The latest financing commitments suggest international development partners are increasingly prepared to support Africa’s energy transition, provided participating countries continue implementing reforms that strengthen the financial sustainability and viability of their electricity sectors.