• West African nations exhibit strong ambitions for renewable energy and clean cooking projects.

• However, inadequate financing currently impedes the realization of these goals.

• The ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF 2025) highlighted the critical funding gap, particularly for off-grid solutions.

The ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF 2025), held from September 18 to September 19 in Banjul, Gambia, reaffirmed West African countries' commitment to accelerating their energy transition. Electric mobility, green hydrogen, and clean cooking stand central to these commitments. However, the crucial question of financing remains unresolved behind these ambitions.

Between 2010 and 2020, West Africa attracted only $4 billion in renewable energy investments. This figure represents less than 8% of the continental total during the period, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The majority of financing targeted solar photovoltaics (62%), significantly outpacing wind (16%) and small hydro (10%).

Nigeria alone concentrated 21% of the flows, while the remainder distributed among Senegal, Mauritania, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso. This structural weakness in investment questions the feasibility of the ambitions presented at the Forum.

World Bank figures confirm the disparity between ambitions and realities. In 2023, the average electricity access rate in the 12 ECOWAS member countries reached 61.6%. However, it fell to 32.1% in the three Alliance of Sahel States (AES) countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

Regarding clean cooking, where the situation appears even more critical, the average caps at 19.9% in ECOWAS and merely 8% in the AES. Cabo Verde and Côte d'Ivoire stand as exceptions, while most countries remain significantly below the targets of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 7. SDG 7 aims to "ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all."

ESEF 2025 highlighted innovative solutions. Nevertheless, without adequate and substantial financing, many of these initiatives risk remaining pilot projects or strategic recommendations. The experience of the Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEAP), which supports the off-grid solar market, clearly demonstrates the indispensable need for targeted and sustainable financing to expand access.

This article was initialy published in French by Abdoullah Diop

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum