• Power Africa closed after 12 years, leaving a gap in Africa’s electrification push.

• Mission 300 aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030 using diverse financing.

• Risk perception limits green energy investment despite Africa’s vast renewable resources.

Access to reliable electricity remains a critical challenge across Africa. Hundreds of millions of people still live without power, disrupting development and daily life. Although Power Africa, launched in 2013 by U.S. President Barack Obama, mobilized over $1.2 billion and attracted nearly $29 billion in investments, its closure in 2025 left a notable void.

Over 12 years, Power Africa supported more than 150 major projects in 42 countries and helped improve electricity access for about 200 million Africans, The Independent reported. However, with nearly 600 million Africans lacking electricity today, new programs are stepping in to bridge this gap.

The World Bank and the African Development Bank recently launched Mission 300. This initiative targets connecting 300 million people to power by 2030. It plans to combine public, private, and concessional financing, while backing critical areas like power generation, transmission, distribution, and structural reforms.

Simultaneously, coalitions such as the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) raise philanthropic and private capital to reduce investor risks. The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) continues to prove that risk in African energy projects is often overstated. PIDG supports local funding systems, like Nigeria’s InfraCredit, which taps into domestic savings, including pension funds, to finance sustainable infrastructure.

Despite these efforts, Africa attracts only 2% of global investment in green energy. The continent's massive renewable potential remains underused because investors still see risks as too high. Yet, PIDG notes its losses over 23 years in Africa mirror those in other regions, suggesting risk perceptions do not match reality.

This article was initially published in French by Abdoullah Diop

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum