Lighting Up Eastern Africa: How Greater Access to Energy is Creating Jobs and Improving Public Services in Rural Ethiopia

In the remote village of Tum, located 4,650 feet above sea level and just 20 to 30 kilometers from Ethiopia’s border with South Sudan, Meskerem Tadesse’s life has been transformed. A mother of four, Meskerem once spent hours every day on tasks made harder by the lack of electricity. She gathered firewood daily to cook and relied on kerosene to provide dim lighting in her home. This limited her family’s activities and exposed them to harmful fumes. Like many rural communities in Ethiopia, Tum had no access to electricity.

Today, Tum is no longer in the dark, thanks to a solar mini-grid installed by the Ethiopia Electric Utility (EEU) with support from the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) as part of the World Bank-supported Ethiopia Electrification Program (ELEAP). Tum is one of 11 villages benefiting from mini-grids, which provide around 4,000 connections, supplying electricity to around 20,000 people. This development has transformed how Meskerem spends her day-to-day activities, and has created opportunities for financial growth. She now runs a small grocery store, made possible by her capacity to refrigerate and package her products, especially freezer pops. “This is a hot, sunny area, so freezer pops are very popular,” she says. The income from her business has allowed her to buy a computer for her children, improving their education.

Electricity has also transformed her household. “We used to cook with wood, but now we have an electric stove and oven,” Meskerem explains. “It saves so much time, and the house is well-lit at night. It’s a big change for us.” Her plan to start an electricity-powered mill reflects her commitment to expanding her business and illustrates how access to energy is fueling her family’s growth and resilience.

Meskerem’s story is just one example of how electricity is transforming rural communities in Ethiopia. Along with the off-grid connections, the project has also supported close to 1.3 million new on-grid connections, bringing electricity to nearly 6.5 million people.

These families are now able to spend less time on household chores like fetching water, as systems now pump water directly to homes. This frees up time for more productive activities. “Energy is a key driver of economic development. Without it, progress in any sector is nearly impossible. Villages with access to energy see economic improvements within just a few years. Energy access also creates job opportunities for young people, such as work in technical fields, metal workshops, or wood workshops, helping them generate income and improve their quality of life,” said Shiferaw Telila, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU).

Powering public services

Expanding access to energy across all regions of Ethiopia has also significantly improved the delivery and quality of essential services provided to the population. Around 19,000 public facilities, such as schools, healthcare centers, and administrative government buildings, have been connected to electricity through both on-grid and off-grid solutions. This is the case of the health clinic in the city of Zaro, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. It is one of the more than 700 health facilities connected under ELEAP.

“Before electricity, we had to bring the vaccines from the district office, about nine km away, and go to the outreach site, which was very far away. After working at the site, if we had leftover vaccines, we then had to take them back to the district office. The vaccines needed to be stored in a place with a deep freezer,” explains Engida Guche, a health extension worker. Electricity has transformed this process. “We can bring the vaccines, use them for outreach, and store them here safely. Before, the vaccines would be exposed to the sun or might expire, compromising their quality. But now, we can deliver the vaccines in good condition,” adds Engida.

Ethiopia's journey to universal energy access

As part of the country’s commitment to universal energy access, Ethiopia has made significant progress in recent years. By 2022, 55% of the population had electricity, a major improvement from just 20% in 2015. However, there is still a gap—while urban areas have a 94% electrification rate, many rural areas continue to struggle.

To address the electricity access challenge, the Ethiopian government launched, in 2017, the National Electrification Program (NEP), with the ambitious target of achieving universal electricity access with a full-fledged integrated approach towards electrification, incorporating off-grid solutions to complement grid electrification. The World Bank is supporting the government’s electrification agenda through different initiatives, including ELEAP, helping them to turn this vision into reality. “NEP is a very ambitious and comprehensive program. We struggle with shortfalls in financing, weak capacity of local manufacturers, and a shortage of equipment and materials to electrify the country. However, with the support of the ELEAP program, most of the challenges have been overcome, and we have learned through experience. ELEAP is very successful because of this close partnership between the Government of Ethiopia and the World Bank, the financial modality, and the different platforms and mechanisms to implement the program,” says Sultan Wali, Ethiopia's State Minister of Water and Energy.

These efforts are part of Ethiopia’s commitment to the Mission 300 Initiative, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. Through ELEAP alone, nearly 10 million Ethiopians are expected to gain access to electricity by 2026, closing the gap between rural and urban areas and laying the groundwork for long-term sustainable growth.

ELEAP supports new connections and places an emphasis on a comprehensive effort to strengthen sector institutional systems and improve the energy utility’s performance. “For the last 5-6 years, ELEAP has supported key sector institutions to strengthen their fiduciary, safeguards, and planning systems to deliver an accelerated electricity access program in the country. More recently, the program also supports the utility’s financial and operational performance improvement plans, aiming to enhance the overall quality of service delivery while strengthening the utility’s commercial functions,” notes Erik Fernstrom, World Bank Practice Manager for Energy in East Africa. Key initiatives include the deployment of tech-enabled solutions such as smart meters, comprehensive mapping of the EEU network, and customer indexing.

Building on the success of ELEAP, the Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia Project (ADELE), launched in 2021, aims to provide electricity to an additional 5 million people and 1,900 public institutions. Looking ahead, the World Bank is further supporting the government to launch an operation to continue efforts through 2030 and contribute to the government’s vision of universal access to affordable, reliable, clean and high-quality electricity services in Ethiopia. Maryam Salim, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia, adds “The World Bank is a committed partner in Ethiopia’s energy journey. We’re working closely with the government to expand the power grid, increase renewable energy generation, and ensure reliable, affordable energy for everyone.”