The World Bank is calling upon private sector investors to take a significant role in supporting its ambitious “Mission 300” initiative. This initiative aims to provide electricity access to 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030, including Nigeria.
Collaborating with the African Development Bank, the World Bank aims to address the region’s substantial energy access gap, where approximately 600 million people, accounting for 83% of the global unelectrified population, lack access to electricity. The World Bank has committed to connecting 250 million people, while the AfDB will facilitate access for an additional 50 million individuals.
To accelerate progress towards this goal, the World Bank is executing large-scale projects like the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project. Recently, the World Bank approved $750 million for the DARES project in 2023, focusing on Western and Central Africa. This initiative is anticipated to benefit over 17.5 million Nigerians by replacing more than 250,000 diesel generators with cleaner energy solutions.
In Eastern and Southern Africa, the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) program aims to connect 100 million people across 20 countries. The program has already been launched in countries like Burundi, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, and Tanzania.
The World Bank underscores the importance of private sector funding to complement public and multilateral financing in bridging Africa’s energy gap. It highlights the necessity for substantial private investments in transmission, distribution, and cross-border energy trade to achieve the objectives of Mission 300.
Institutions like the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency are collaborating to provide incentives and guarantees that encourage private sector involvement in energy projects. Mission 300 is also forming partnerships with regional organizations like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to establish a regional platform offering technical assistance, capacity building, and finance aggregation.
Philanthropic organizations such as The Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Energy for All initiative are also contributing additional public and private financing to support the mission.
The World Bank emphasizes that the Mission 300 initiative aligns with its broader goal of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Each advancement towards Mission 300 contributes to the commitment of creating a sustainable planet for all.