The World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) have announced a collaborative initiative to bring electricity to at least 300 million people in Africa by 2030. This project aims to address one of the continent’s most serious concerns, removing enormous impediments to health care, education, productivity, digital inclusion, and job development caused by the existing lack of access to power.
This was revealed during a high-level meeting between the president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, and the AfDB’s president, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina. As part of the collaboration, the World Bank will link 250 million people to power via distributed renewable energy systems or the distribution grid, while the AfDB will assist an additional 50 million people in acquiring access to this vital resource.
The project comes at a time when an estimated 600 million Africans do not have access to electricity, which creates impediments to health care, education, productivity, digital inclusion, and, ultimately, job development.
Speaking on the project, Mr. Banga said that it is aided by a constellation of regional energy programmes that will now be aligned towards this common goal. He added that for the World Bank Group to connect 250 million people, $30 billion of public sector investment will be needed, of which the International Development Association’s input, the World Bank’s concessional arm for low-income countries, will be critical.
“Electricity access is the bedrock of all development. It is a critical ingredient for economic growth and essential for job creation at scale. Our aspirations will only be realised with partnership and ambition. We will need policy action from governments, financing from multilateral development banks, and private sector investment to see this through,” Mr. Banga said.
According to the World Bank, there would be significant prospects for private investment in grid-connected renewable energy, which is required to fuel economies for growth.
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