In a groundbreaking move ahead of Climate Week NYC, a coalition of global organizations comprising the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and The Rockefeller Foundation has announced their support for an ambitious initiative to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2013.
The project dubbed "Mission 300" (M300), and originally launched in April 2024 by the World Bank Group and African Development Bank (AfDB), involves launching a new technical assistance facility, establishing an M300 Leadership Group with the AfDB and World Bank, and mobilizing private-sector financing to drive Africa's electrification efforts.
By aligning resources, expertise, and advocacy efforts, the partners aim to build and sustain momentum for the World Bank's and AfDB's ambition to transform energy access to nearly half of Africa's population currently living without power.
African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina hailed the partnership as a "game changer" for Africa's development, highlighting that "no economy can grow, industrialize or be competitive in the dark without electricity." He noted that the initiative's success is bolstered by collaboration with key partners such as GEAPP, The Rockefeller Foundation, and SEforALL towards supporting Africa to achieve universal access to electricity."
World Bank President Ajay Banga stressed the need for a broad coalition: "We need action from governments, financing from multilateral development banks, and investment from the private sector. Together with GEAPP, The Rockefeller Foundation, and SEforALL, we are strengthening our partnership to support projects on the ground and accelerate the pace of electrification."
GEAPP and Rockefeller Foundation are committing an initial $10 million to establish a new, more flexible, short-medium-term technical assistance facility. This facility will deploy philanthropic capital to accelerate the pace and efficiency of electricity access projects across 11 countries - Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia. The funds will also support projects within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Africa's largest regional economic organization.
Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, said: "Whether our collective future is defined by crisis or opportunity depends on big bets like Mission 300--the most important global development undertaking in decades." He stressed the need for unprecedented collaboration to more than double the current speed of electrification.
Receiving nearly three dozen requests for technical assistance since August, the technical assistance facility builds upon the innovative capacities at The Rockefeller Foundation's public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC), and GEAPP, which has more than 50 percent of its current portfolio by value invested in Africa. This includes 63 projects in more than 20 African countries, and GEAPP is already working intensively with the AfDB and World Bank to design and accelerate electrification efforts in several African markets.
Woochong Um, CEO of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, emphasized that Mission 300 exemplifies the alliance's commitment to universal clean energy access, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting livelihoods. "As we mobilize resources and expertise to accelerate electrification efforts across Africa, we recognize that transformative progress requires more than just financial investment--it demands unparalleled collaboration and innovation. Together, we can drive a more equitable and sustainable energy future for all," he said.
A joint governance body was also created to help drive accountability across stakeholders, monitor progress, and ensure that agile operational structures are enabled and resources are aligned to deliver accelerated country-led results. The group is co-chaired by the CEO of SEforALL, Damilola Ogunbiyi, and it includes senior leaders from the AfDB, World Bank, GEAPP, and The Rockefeller Foundation.
Ms. Ogunbiyi, who is also a Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, said: "Ensuring that everyone everywhere has access to energy is not just a matter of convenience; it is a cornerstone of human dignity, equality, and opportunity." She said Mission 300 is an unparalleled opportunity to electrify Africa's future and power a brighter tomorrow, and called on stakeholders to join the initiative to guarantee its success.
Alongside the new technical assistance facility, GEAPP, SEforALL, The Rockefeller Foundation, RFCC, and other partners are co-developing additional initiatives to help advance M300 across productive use of energy, local currency financing, support to developers, pooled procurement, and global advocacy.
As the initiative rolls out, partners are eyeing a $90 billion investment target through multilateral development banks, private sector investments, and philanthropic contributions. The consortium is also advocating for robust replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessional arm for low-income countries, and the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the AfDB, which are key funding vehicles for low-income countries. Robust replenishments of IDA and ADF, which are supported by sovereign governments, could include $120 billion in commitments for the Final Pledging and Replenishment Meeting (Dec. 5-6 in South Korea), as called for in April by African countries eligible for IDA assistance, and a $25 billion ADF replenishment in 2025.
Another source of funding could be through the International Monetary Fund's Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST), which helps low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries build resilience to external shocks and ensure sustainable growth, contributing to their longer-term balance of payments stability.
The partners have named Andrew Herscowitz, former head of Power Africa, as the Chief Executive Officer of the M300 Accelerator. He will oversee the initiative's effort, coordinating with the AfDB and World Bank to fast-track progress.
Electrifying 300 million people in Africa will create jobs, drive economic growth, and significantly reduce poverty across the continent.
About Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP)
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is an alliance of philanthropy, governments, technology, policy, and financing partners. Our common mission is to enable emerging and developed economies to shift to a clean energy, pro-growth model that accelerates universal energy access and inclusive economic growth while supporting the global community to meet critical climate goals during the next decade. As an Alliance, we aim to reduce 4 gigatons of future carbon emissions, expand clean energy access to one billion people, and enable 150 million new jobs. With philanthropic partners the IKEA Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and Bezos Earth Fund, GEAPP works to build the enabling environment, capacity, and market conditions for private sector solutions, catalyze new business models through innovation and entrepreneurship, and deploy high-risk capital to encourage private sector solutions and assist just transition solutions. For more information, please visit www.energyalliance.org and follow us on Twitter at @EnergyAlliance.
About Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL)
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is an international organization that works in partnership with the United Nations and government leaders, the private sector, financial institutions, civil society, and philanthropies to drive faster action towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) - access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030 - in line with the Paris Agreement on climate. We work to ensure a clean energy transition that leaves no one behind and brings new opportunities for everyone to fulfill their potential. For more information, visit www.seforall.org. You can also follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming food, health, energy, and finance systems. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LI @the-rockefeller-foundation.
About RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC)
A charitable offshoot of The Rockefeller Foundation, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC) enables foundations, impact investors, businesses, governments, and other like-minded funders to combine resources to build funding solutions for social impact and bring about transformational change. RFCC leverages The Rockefeller Foundation's expertise and resources while collaborating with partners and investors to multiply impact and help transform today's greatest challenges into collaborative solutions. For more information, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org/rf-catalytic-capital-inc.
