Powering Africa's Future by 2030

In the coastal capital of Tanzania on the Indian Ocean, anticipation is building as African leaders prepare to supercharge a transformative initiative to power rural villages and urban neighborhoods across the continent. This effort, known as Mission 300, will bring electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030, creating jobs, driving digitalization, and propelling growth that attracts investment across the continent.

In just a few days, the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and others will convene African heads of state, private sector leaders, development partners, and civil society at the African Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam to commit to new investments, announce partnerships, and drive momentum toward the 2030 goal.

This effort recalls President Obama’s launch of Power Africa during his own visit to Tanzania in 2013. Power Africa aimed to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Since then, over 200 million Africans have gained access to electricity, a remarkable feat.

But, we’re barely keeping up with population growth. Today, more than 600 million Africans ― half the population of sub-Saharan Africa ― do not even have a light bulb.

We learned a lot from Power Africa, mainly that success only happens when African governments guide the plan from the get-go. That’s why Mission 300, and the Africa Energy Summit, are so important.

At the summit, more than a dozen African heads of state will sign unprecedented energy compacts agreeing to:

Build power infrastructure that prioritizes low-cost renewable energy when cost-effective;
Increase the trading of electricity across borders to further bring down the cost of electricity;
Deploy distributed renewable energy systems to increase energy access and clean cooking, so that people who live far from the power grid also can have electricity;
Commit to reforms and provide financial incentives, such as tax exemptions, to attract billions of dollars of private investment; and
Strengthen their utilities so that they can cover their costs of operations.

In return, the World Bank and AfDB, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Energy Alliance for People & Planet, and Sustainable Energy for All, are committing an equally unprecedented amount of low-cost concessional capital to help the African countries deliver on their commitments.

We are forming a diverse partnership to achieve these ambitious goals. Together, we will build the infrastructure, bring down the cost of electricity, increase incomes, and solve the most solvable, yet most critical, of the world’s development problems.

We have been successful in bringing electricity to remote areas all over the world over the last few decades. It’s Africa’s turn.