World Bank Announces $50bn Commitment to Boost Electricity Access in Africa

The World Bank says more than $50 billion has been committed to support a major initiative aimed at expanding electricity access across Africa.

The programme, known as Mission 300, seeks to provide electricity to 300 million people across the continent by 2030. Since its launch at a conference in Dar es Salaam in January last year, the initiative has already connected about 44 million people to power.

According to the World Bank, tens of millions more people are expected to gain electricity access through the programme by the end of 2026.

Funding commitments include concessional loans from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, alongside contributions from other development finance institutions and private sector investors.

The initiative aims to address one of the biggest barriers to economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly half of the population, about 570 million people till lack access to electricity. Limited power supply continues to affect education, job creation and productivity in a region where around 70 percent of the population is under the age of 30.