Supercharging Africa’s Development

The start of a new year is traditionally a time for commitments and resolutions.

In Tanzania this week, I was impressed by the concrete commitments made by 30 African Heads of State to expand access to reliable, affordable—and renewable—electricity in their countries, especially to remote and vulnerable communities.

The commitments—known as The Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration—were announced at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit, an event that convened African heads of state, private sector investors, multilateral development banks, donors, partners, and others to transform Africa’s energy sector for social and economic development on the continent.

To this end, and as part of Mission 300, which aims to bring power to 300 million more people in Africa by 2030, 世界银行 Group has supported African governments to develop ‘National Energy Compacts’. These compacts set out the reforms countries will make to strengthen their power sectors and attract investment, including through increased transparency around financing and bidding processes.

Twelve governments—Chad, C?te D’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia—were the first to present their detailed and time-bound compacts at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit.

In addition, Mission 300 partners, including 世界银行 Group and African Development Bank Group , pledged more than $50 billion at the summit to support increased energy access in Africa, where a staggering 600 million people are still without reliable connections to power.?

The Tanzania event also saw the launch of Zafiri, a World Bank Group/African Development Bank investment company that supports private sector-led solutions, such as renewable mini-grids and solar home systems. Partners, including The Rockefeller Foundation , will invest $300 million in the first phase. We are seeking more partners to bring us to $1 billion to help address Africa’s power gap.

I believe the Tanzania summit is a historical moment akin to the transformative power of the Yamoussoukro Decision, which liberalized air travel in Africa in 1999.

Today, governments and the private sector are working together closer than ever before to electrify Africa, a goal that will deliver wide-ranging development benefits, from better health and education outcomes to job creation and gains across all economic sectors.?

The private sector’s role in this mission is crucial. Billions of dollars in long-term investments are needed to bring power to so many people across so many countries. Importantly, private funding is needed not only in power generation (where it is already making an important contribution in Africa) but also in transmission and distribution.

The public sector in Africa has long been responsible for transporting power over long distances and delivering it to homes and businesses. However, the problem—and it is a growing problem—is underfunding. All generations in the world are practically useless if they are not transmitted and distributed reliably through modern, well-maintained infrastructure.

Looking ahead, I expect the outcomes of the Tanzania summit will attract increased private funding into all aspects of Africa’s power sector. I am also confident that many more African governments will compose and commit to their own compacts.

Access to power is essential to almost all aspects of 21st-century life—and achieving universal access is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The World Bank Group has connected 120 million people to electricity in the past 10 years. The challenge of connecting 300 million more in only five years is real, but the winning strategy is now in place.

• Read more about Mission 300 in the latest IFC Insights newsletter
• Watch my interview with FRANCE 24 to hear my thoughts on #PoweringAfrica: Makhtar Diop : "Le secteur privé sera essentiel pour électrifier l'Afrique"