World Bank, AfDB Partner to Electrify 300 million Africans by 2030

The World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have announced plans to come together and provide access to energy for 300 million Africans by 2030.

According to the Banks, the plan will cost around $30 billion and is to be funded by the World Bank through the International Development Association (IDA) and the AfDB together with governments across the continent and the private sector.

Announcing the partnership during the panel session on Energizing Africa: What Will It Take to Accelerate Access & Improve Lives?  at the World Bank’s Spring Meetings in Washington DC on Wednesday, Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, said for the plan to be brought to life, there is a need for policy action from governments, as well as investments from the private sector and multilateral organisations.

Banga said: “Once we get the summit going, we need to be focused on that there is the target of 300 million, there is a date of 2030, and we don’t want to go past 2030.

“There are focus plans and KPIs built. Some of these would evolve as we go along in countries, but we have to understand that as development professionals, we have to run with what we have.”

On his part, Akinwunmi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), lamented that there are about 600 million people without access to electricity in Africa, calling it an “embarrassment”.

However, he said that the bank plans to host the Africa Energy Summit where stakeholders from both the private and public sectors will interact on mechanisms for harnessing Africa’s energy potential across different energy sources from wind to solar, hydro and thermal.