Africa leaders launch $250bn mission to electrify 300m

Senior African finance leaders have launched major new initiatives aimed at mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars in capital to address the continent’s critical development needs, particularly in energy access. The announcements were made during the African Development Bank Group’s 2026 Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, which concluded on Friday.

A central focus was the Mission 300 initiative, a joint effort by the AfDB and the World Bank Group to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. Officials called for the creation of a coalition of African Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to unlock an estimated $250 billion in institutional assets to support the goal. AfDB Vice President Kevin Kariuki stated that no single institution could deliver the target alone and emphasized the need for African capital to work more systematically for African development.

Mission 300 requires approximately $238 billion across its first implementation phase, with nearly half expected from the private sector. Constant Nzi, Chief Executive Officer of the African Guarantee Fund, pointed to significant untapped financial resources, noting that $2.5 trillion sits on...