The World Bank and AfDB opens up $40 Billion for electricity access via Mission 300

The World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have outlined the conditions African countries must fulfill to access $40 billion in funding aimed at addressing the continent’s electricity crisis, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The two institutions are spearheading a program called Mission 300, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030. The initiative comes with a $30 billion pledge from the multilateral lenders, alongside an expected $10 billion in contributions from private institutions.

To qualify for this support, participating nations must implement policies that attract private investment and prioritize using low-cost electricity, which is predominantly renewable energy.

At the end of this month, 13 countries, including Nigeria, will present their plans at a Mission 300 summit for heads of state in Tanzania.

Franz Drees-Gross, the World Bank's director of infrastructure for Western and Central Africa, told Bloomberg: “Of the 680 million people globally without electricity access, 570 million live in sub-Saharan Africa. Against that backdrop, and also very high population growth in Africa, that’s making it very difficult to make progress in increasing coverage.”

The program aims to secure support from private sector developers, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, and philanthropies by creating a more attractive and profitable environment for renewable energy investments across sub-Saharan Africa.