REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo
CAPE TOWN: A plan to bring electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030, backed by an initial pledge of US$30bil from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, has begun to be implemented with an assessment of the first potential beneficiaries.
Some of the world’s most prominent climate organisations – the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and Sustainable Energy For All – last Friday announced the formation of a technical assistance facility to examine projects and help secure funding for those that qualify for the programme known as Mission 300.
The aim is to ultimately raise US$90bil or more from a range of sources.
“Every project starts with a single payment,” said Rockefeller Foundation president Rajiv Shah in response to questions.
“The technical assistance facility is designed to help the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) jump-start their ambitious electrification plans throughout sub-Saharan Africa.”
The plan, if successful, would bring power to half of the 600 million Africans who don’t have access to electricity.
The continent accounts for about three quarters of those without power globally with South Sudan, Burundi and Chad having electrification rates of less than 12% of their populations.
That limits productivity and hampers economic growth in some of the poorest nations on earth.
“We’ve seen, frankly, stagnation” in getting electricity to more Africans over the last 15 years, Ashvin Dayal, who heads the Rockefeller Foundation’s power and climate programme, told Bloomberg TV.
“This is, for us, the defining climate and development challenge for the continent over the next 20 years.”
The Rockefeller Foundation and GEAPP is using an initial US$10mil to help 15 projects across 11 African countries, ranging from Burkina Faso to Mozambique, get off the ground, the groups said in a statement.
GEAPP was founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, together with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Ikea Foundation in 2021,
In April, the World Bank said it would commit US$25bil to the program while the AfDB pledged US$5bil.
The aim is to split the US$90bil needed in funding equally between public funds, concessional and philanthropic finance and commercial commitments, according to Shah.
Possible sources include the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Resilience and Sustainability Trust and re-channelled special drawing rights, which are reserve assets issued by the IMF to its members.
“We need to make sure that we create bankable projects that deliver impact and commercially sound returns,” Woochong Um, GEAPP’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.
“We will launch a massive fund-raising and advocacy effort to elevate action and mobilise the resources required.”
Countries will be encouraged to boost their access to funding by committing to reforms that encourage the roll out of green energy.
Expanding electricity access to Africa “will require a broad coalition that must keep growing,” Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, said in the statement. — Bloomberg
