The Development Challenge

Access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy is key to unlocking Africa’s socio-economic transformation. This is the focus of Mission 300, an ambitious effort between the World Bank and the African Development Bank, amongst other partners, to connect 300 million people to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. With electricity comes new opportunities for jobs, trade, and investment, as well as better schools, hospitals, and other essential services. Lives change. In 2020, only 52 percent of the population in Western and Central Africa had access to electricity services. Reaching those without access, including over 220 million people in Western Africa, requires overcoming challenges related to geography, high electricity costs, weak institutional capacity, and political instability.