2. Why is Mission 300 focused on Africa?
4. Who are the key partners in Mission 300?
5. What is the Africa Energy Summit and how does it relate to Mission 300?
6. What are the National Energy Compacts and how are they developed?
7. How are communities incorporated in Mission 300 projects?
8. How does Mission 300 incorporate gender considerations?
9. How will Mission 300 support the green energy transition?
Mission 300 is a joint initiative of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the African Development Bank
(AfDB), with the support of partners, to expand electricity access to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. In this drive towards powering Africa, the WBG pledged to electrify 250 million people, and the AfDB another 50 million. This ambitious effort aims to accelerate electrification across the continent, particularly in rural and underserved areas. About half of the target is expected to be reached through connecting people to the grid, while the other half will mostly come through the expansion of distributed renewable energy systems, including mini-grids and standalone solar.
A critical piece of Mission 300 is the leadership of African governments in preparing National Energy Compacts. These compacts outline critical reforms and actions to advance energy access in a reliable, affordable, and sustainable manner.
By working together through Mission 300, governments, development partners, the private sector, and civil society can make a real difference in the lives of millions of people across the continent.
2. Why is Mission 300 focused on Africa?
Almost half of Africa’s population—approximately 600 million people—have no access to electricity. This is close to 83% of the people across the world living without electricity. The lack of access hinders economic development, limits opportunities, and forces households and businesses to rely on expensive and polluting alternatives like kerosene and diesel.
Reliable, affordable electricity is essential to power economic growth. Now is the time to fast-track energy access in Africa. Technological breakthroughs, digitalization, and innovative finance and business models are creating unprecedented opportunities for powering Africa. At the same time, the growth and diversification of Africa’s energy sector will create abundant opportunities for economic growth and job creation.
- Connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030. This includes both grid and offgrid solutions to ensure widespread access.
- Accelerate the transformation of Africa's energy sector by expanding distributed renewable energy solutions.
- The National Energy Compacts that several African governments are preparing as part of Mission 300 will advance reforms that aim to: o Expand least-cost power generation. Use transparent, competitive tendering and incorporate local and regional resources into power planning. o Promote regional integration. Facilitate cross-border power trade.
- Enable affordable last-mile access, including by scaling up distributed renewable energy, including solar powered mini-grids and standalone solar systems. o Empower local communities through inclusive access to energy, particularly for marginalized and rural populations.
- Promote clean cooking solutions that have outsized benefits for the health of women and girls. o Encourage private sector investment and public-private partnerships. Leverage private capital and expertise to scale up energy projects.
- Strengthen the financial viability of power utilities.
4. Who are the key partners in Mission 300?
The success of Mission 300 depends on extensive collaboration among all stakeholders:
- The World Bank Group (WBG) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are significantly increasing their financial support to the energy sector to accelerate implementation of energy projects to reach 300 million in Africa by 2030. The WBG and AfDB are also supporting African governments with their energy reform agendas and facilitating private sector participation to boost investment and accelerate transformation.
- Governments are taking the lead on reforms that are critical to supply affordable, reliable energy. Several African countries are developing National Energy Compacts which outline critical reforms and actions to scale up electricity access and modernize their energy sector.
- The private sector will play an essential role in Mission 300 by scaling up investment in distributed renewable energy, as well as grid-connected power generation and new models for private participation in transmission and distribution.
- Donors, philanthropies and partners, such as the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), Sustainable Energy for Africa (SEFA), the Rockefeller
Foundation, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), are helping to mobilize more public and private financing to reach our goal.
5. What is the Africa Energy Summit and how does it relate to Mission 300?
The Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam from January 27-28, 2025, will be cohosted by the African Development Bank, the World Bank Group, the African Union, and the United Republic of Tanzania. It will bring together African Heads of State, private sector leaders, development partners, donors, and civil society to galvanize action towards accelerating energy access in Africa, with governments taking the lead to announce bold energy reforms and partners and private sector mobilizing resources and expertise.
At the Summit, African Heads of State will affirm their joint pledge to scale up access to electricity, increase the use of renewable energy, and attract additional private capital. A first group of African countries will unveil their National Energy Compacts.
6. What are the National Energy Compacts and how are they developed?
Several African countries are developing their National Energy Compacts, which outline critical reforms and actions to drive progress towards universal energy access, increase the share of renewables in the energy mix, and increase private sector participation. The reforms outline critical measures to streamline transparent and competitive tendering processes for new generation capacity; enable power trade across borders; prioritize off-grid and renewable technology, while expanding clean cooking solutions; boost private sector participation and strengthen the financial viability of power utilities.
Each country identifies specific policy measures in its National Energy Compact and sets its own targets based on their its unique context. The National Compacts are fully led and developed by the governments. Countries are encouraged to hold public consultations with civil society and other relevant stakeholders to inform the development of the Compacts.
7. How are communities incorporated in Mission 300 projects?
Local communities are actively involved in the design and implementation of all World Bank Groupsupported Mission 300 projects. Regular consultations and surveys help ensure that each project reflects the needs of beneficiaries and addresses their concerns. Feedback from local stakeholders is directly incorporated into our operations, including in the environmental and social impact assessments of each project. This engagement is essential in creating projects that bring the best possible results for people on the ground.
8. How does Mission 300 incorporate gender considerations?
Mission 300 is expected to result in approximately 150 million women receiving access to electricity in Africa by 2030. Increased electricity access will bolster women’s economic empowerment and unleash opportunities such as access to education, home-based income generating opportunities and a wide variety of job and entrepreneurship opportunities for women, especially in the distributed renewable energy sector.
Reliable electricity supply will also expand access to clean cooking solutions—which will be particularly beneficial to women’s health given their primary role in collecting fuelwood and cooking.
World Bank Group supported Mission 300 projects, like all WBG projects, will include a gender assessment at the pre-investment stage to identify gender gaps and possible interventions. This will then feed into a gender action plan with specific indicators.
The World Bank is also collaborating with countries and utilities to unlock more job opportunities for women across the energy sector. This includes programs like The Women in Energy Network- Africa (WEN-Africa), which aims to increase female employment in the African energy sector by working with partners to provide internships and scholarships for women in STEM fields as well as leadership opportunities.
9. How will Mission 300 support the green energy transition?
Achieving Mission 300’s target—and the energy access agenda more generally—will significantly accelerate the momentum for clean energy in Africa and lead to significant emissions reductions.
It is estimated that about half of the Mission 300 target would be most cost-effectively achieved via distributed renewable energy solutions, including solar mini-grids and stand-alone solar solutions. These cleaner energy solutions will allow people to move away from dirtier and less efficient fuels (e.g. diesel, kerosene) that are hazardous for their health and for the environment.
The National Energy Compacts, which are a critical piece of Mission 300, also include concrete time-bound targets to increase the share of renewables in each country’s energy mix.