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At the beginning of June, the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (REA) announced it would support the rollout of $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) , which is funded by the World Bank. “It will benefit over 17.5 million unserved, underserved, rural, and remote Nigerians through the deployment of standalone solar and mini grids and replace more than 280,000 polluting and expensive petrol and diesel generator sets, an important step for Nigeria towards achieving its energy transition targets” said Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria.

The stakes are high on the African continent, as in 2022, 83% of the world's population living without access to electricity were located in sub-Saharan Africa. On April 17th, 2024, the World Bank Group (WBG) brought together Ajay Banga, their President, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), development experts, government officials, and private sector leaders for a panel entitled “Energizing Africa: What Will it Take to Accelerate Access and Improve Lives?”.

During , Presidents Banga and Adesina announced an ambitious new partnership between WBG and AfDB that aims to provide at least 300 million people in Africa with electricity access by 2030. The project seeks to take advantage of Africa's vast renewable energy resources, including solar, hydro, geothermal, and wind, to contribute to both economic development and “a sense of pride” on the continent. It marks a turning point for the future of electricity access in the region and globally.

One member of the CID Community, Lili Vessereau, attended this pivotal event, and shares her main takeaways from the conversation.

Igniting Progress: Access to electricity as a right, fair prices as a duty

Electricity is essential for human development, conditioning access to everything from health and education to the ability to innovate, manufacture, and build productively. Both Akinwumi Adesina and Ajay Banga stressed that this makes electricity a human right – President Banga told the audience that “To me, getting electricity to people is mission one, two and three." With over 600 million people in Africa lacking access to any form of power, ensuring universal electricity access is therefore ambitious but crucial for the continent's progress.

However, because this human right cannot be fulfilled without private sector involvement, utilities need to be liquid and profitable while still balancing consumer and wider policy needs. Utility companies should use progressive pricing to ensure that customers “pay the right amount for what [they] can pay," while governments implement social safety nets to protect the most vulnerable populations from potential price adjustments. In addition to fair pricing, creating sustainable energy projects that balance profitability with affordability requires clear tariff and policy frameworks. Strong regulatory environments and skilled management teams are paramount to creating these, which will in turn lead to stability and confidence in energy investments.

Powering the Future: Decentralization and Collaboration

For many African communities, remoteness and high costs of connection to the grid are key barriers to electrification. Decentralized systems play a vital role in providing localized and efficient energy access to these areas. Off-grid solar solutions, such as mini-grids and off-grid options, have already reached millions across sub-Saharan Africa. Larger projects, such as the "" project, have also harnessed solar energy to increase electricity access rates while contributing to sustainability.

Public funding and subsidies will be critical to making the World Bank and African Development Bank’s ambition of funding high-scale, decentralized projects a reality. Subsidies will make these technologies more affordable for households, in line with access to electricity as a human right, while public funding will reduce costs to developers. This will require multilateral development banks and governments to cooperate to ensure the fiscal sustainability of national subsidies. Simplified guarantees and risk-sharing mechanisms will also be crucial to make energy projects more attractive to private investors.

Collaboration for a Greener Africa

The journey toward a decentralized grid in Africa requires a collaborative approach involving governments, multilateral development banks, and the private sector. By prioritizing electricity as a right, balancing profitability with affordability, and embracing decentralization and collaboration, Africa can make significant strides in providing access to clean and affordable energy for its people. This transformative effort and the newly announced partnership between the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank will pave the way for sustainable development, economic growth, and a brighter future for the continent.