Seventeen African countries committed on Wednesday to implementing reforms to expand access to electricity under Mission 300.
Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, and Togo adopted their “national energy compacts” during the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum.
This initiative, led by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, aims to provide electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030.
These master plans help guide public spending, drive reforms, and attract private capital, according to a joint statement from the two financial institutions.
“Electricity is at the foundation of jobs, opportunities, and economic growth,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “That is why Mission 300 is more than a target — it is an initiative for sustainable reforms that reduce costs, strengthen utilities, and mobilize private investment,” he added.
Since the launch of Mission 300, 30 million people have already benefited, and more than 100 million are expected to follow soon, the document notes.
African Development Bank Group President Sidi Ould Tah, for his part, stressed that “reliable and affordable energy is the fastest way to grow small and medium-sized enterprises, the agrifood sector, digital work, and industrial value addition.”
The national energy compacts are at the heart of Mission 300. Developed and adopted by governments with the technical support of their development partners, they are tailored to each country’s context. They consist of concrete action plans built around three key pillars: infrastructure, financing, and public policy.
