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New funding transforms lives by expanding electricity access across Africa

The European Investment Bank pledged more than $1.15 billion in March for renewable energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa, while the Rockefeller Foundation committed an additional $10 million to electrification programs in at least 15 African countries.
More than 730 million people worldwide lack electricity, about 600 million of them in Africa, driving the Mission 300 initiative to connect 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to power by 2030.
Kenya's Last Mile Connectivity Project, supported by the World Bank and African Development Bank, targets households near existing transformers, with rural access rising to about 68% in 2023 from under 7% in 2010.
Shopkeeper Agnes Mbesa in Mathare now operates her store after dark, while fisherman Samuel Oketch in Sori uses a solar-powered freezer to preserve his catch, demonstrating tangible economic gains from electrification.
Scaling access requires sustained financing and stronger implementation capacity, Andrew Herscowitz, CEO of the Mission 300 Accelerator, said, as technical assistance reaches Nigeria, Malawi, and Senegal to strengthen national energy plans.

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