African development finance institutions are stepping up efforts to support Mission 300, a flagship initiative led by the African Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group aimed at providing electricity access to an additional 300 million Africans by 2030.
At a high-level meeting held on the sidelines of the AfDB Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, financial leaders from across the continent called for stronger coordination and greater mobilisation of African capital to help bridge the massive financing gap facing the initiative.
The discussions, held at the Kintélé International Conference Centre, focused on ways to unlock resources from African development finance institutions (DFIs), which collectively hold an estimated $250 billion in capital.
A key outcome of the meeting was a new commitment from the West African Development Bank. Representing the institution, Oumar Tembely announced that BOAD would mobilise approximately 1.1 billion CFA francs, equivalent to about €1.7 million, in support of Mission 300.
The commitment comes as the overall financing requirement for the electrification programme is estimated at $238 billion, with roughly half expected to come from private-sector investment.
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Speaking at the event, AfDB Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, Kevin Kariuki stressed that no single institution could achieve the programme’s ambitious objectives alone.
He called for the establishment of a coalition of African development finance institutions to improve coordination, reduce duplication and increase the impact of investments across the continent’s energy sector.
Potential members of the coalition include the Trade and Development Bank, Africa50, the African Guarantee Fund and Cygnum Capital, working alongside the AfDB.
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Participants also highlighted the importance of blended finance and risk-mitigation mechanisms to attract greater private investment into Africa’s energy infrastructure. Instruments such as the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa were identified as critical tools for reducing investment risks and encouraging private-sector participation.
During the discussions, Constant N’zi pointed to the vast pool of capital already available within Africa’s financial system.
“There are $2.5 trillion sitting on the balance sheets of African commercial banks,” he said, stressing the need to channel that liquidity into productive investments that support infrastructure development and economic growth.
The meeting also linked Mission 300 to the broader goals of the New African Financial Architecture for Development, an AfDB-led initiative aimed at strengthening Africa’s capacity to finance its own development priorities.
Meanwhile, Admassu Tadesse reaffirmed his institution’s support for the initiative, describing Mission 300 as a programme the bank had backed since its inception.
The discussions underscored a growing determination among African financial institutions to play a leading role in financing the continent’s energy transition and infrastructure expansion.
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Participants agreed that achieving Mission 300’s goal of expanding electricity access to 300 million people by 2030 will depend on three key factors: stronger institutional coordination, increased mobilisation of African capital and expanded use of guarantees and blended-finance instruments to attract private investment.
