•  EU announces €11.5B package to support South Africa’s transition

• €8.7B to fund solar, wind, and green hydrogen projects

• Funds also target infrastructure, jobs, and vaccine production
  

The European Union on Thursday, Oct 9, announced an €11.5 billion investment package for South Africa.  The partnership, unveiled in Brussels by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, forms part of the Team Europe initiative under the EU’s Global Gateway framework.

Dear @CyrilRamaphosa, with Global Gateway investments worth almost €12 billion, we're fully behind your ambition to become a clean energy leader

And we're making great strides in scaling up renewables in Africa with a €618 million Team Europe package ↓ https://t.co/EKQ7shDr9a

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 9, 2025

Funding will accelerate South Africa’s just energy transition, expand sustainable connectivity, and strengthen pharmaceutical production. The new commitment builds on a €4.7 billion package announced in March 2025 at the EU–South Africa Summit in Cape Town, underscoring Europe’s continued support for Africa’s largest industrial economy.

According to an official statement, €8.7 billion will be allocated to the energy transition, partly for large-scale solar, wind, and green-hydrogen projects. Another €1.3 billion will modernize logistics and digital infrastructure, while €1.2 billion will finance training, reskilling, and job-creation programs in mining communities.

 A further €292 million will support local vaccine and biotechnology production. The EU’s continued engagement comes as some donors reconsider their participation in transition initiatives.

The pledges come as South Africa, which still depends on coal for roughly 80% of its electricity, has completed the 9,600-MW Kusile and Medupi coal-fired power plants, major facilities essential to grid stability that highlight the challenge of balancing energy security with emission cuts.

By staying the course, Europe reaffirms its commitment to this long-term transformation and to helping build a green South African economy that preserves jobs, strengthens industry, and follows a transition path suited to African realities.

Abdoullah Diop