Across Africa, nearly 600 million people live in energy poverty, deprived of reliable access to electricity -- a fundamental prerequisite for modern life. This staggering statistic represents more than just a lack of power.
Significantly, it translates to limited opportunities for education, healthcare, gender equality, and economic growth. Mission 300, a bold initiative championed by the African Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group in collaboration with key partners, seeks to change this narrative by providing first time electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030. A key milestone in this effort, branded Mission 300, is the Africa Energy Summit scheduled for Dar es Salaam, from January 27 to 28, 2025.
Energy is the engine of development. Without affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity, Africa cannot achieve its developmental aspirations or secure its rightful place in the global economy. Energy access is the cornerstone of economic transformation, opening doors to education, healthcare, and income generation.
Moreover, it fosters gender equality by reducing the time women spend on labour and time-intensive tasks such as cooking with traditional fuels or collecting for firewood. Mission 300's success is therefore not just about electrification; it is about saving and empowering lives as well as communities. It is also about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and safeguarding biodiversity.
Yet, the path ahead is daunting. At the current pace of electrification, coupled with Africa's rapid population growth, the number of people living without access to electricity could remain largely unchanged. Action is therefore an imperative, and Mission 300 provides the roadmap to achieve universal energy access by 2030, consistent with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 7 and the African Union's Agenda 2063.
Mission 300 will invest in new and rehabilitation of generation capacity, transmission systems, including intra- and regional interconnections, as well as distribution grids to build robust and reliable power systems. It will be complemented by reforms in the energy sector to ensure affordability and sustainability of electricity service, and financially viable utilities while partnerships with the private sector will assist in mobilising funding at the required speed and scale
In addition to providing electricity access from interconnected power systems, through Mission 300's transformative vision, mini-grids, and stand-alone solar home systems will be prioritized to provide electricity to underserved regions and communities, including in fragile and remote areas where extending the interconnected grid is impracticable. These Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) solutions are amenable to easy and speedy roll-out, cost-effective, modular, sustainable, and can ensure that no community is left behind in the Mission 300 journey. DRE solutions are projected to account for more than 50 percent of new connections by 2030.
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The Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam will be a pivotal moment in Mission 300 journey. Hosted by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, the African Union, the African Development Bank Group, the World Bank Group, as well as the African Union, the summit will bring together over 25 Heads of State and Governments, Heads of international Organisation, including Banks, energy experts, and private sector leaders to forge a common path toward universal energy access.
The principal outcomes of the summit comprise of the adoption of the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration by the entire continent and twelve country energy compacts co-created between countries and the Mission 300 partners. The Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration will outline commitments to reforms and actions necessary to achieve Mission 300 while twelve country energy compacts, will expound on the principles of the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration to establish tangible country specific actions and measures for accelerated electricity access such as least-cost power expansion plans, providing last-mile access through grid and distributed renewables, building financially viable energy systems, regional interconnection and promotion of private sector participation in the energy sector. --
