The World Bank Group and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet have announced a new partnership to promote the productive use of energy across Africa. As part of this initiative, a regional Center of Excellence will be established in Nairobi, aimed at helping African countries maximize the economic benefits of electrification by connecting energy access with agriculture, small businesses, healthcare, education, and other productive sectors.

The new Center will focus on providing technical knowledge, training, and capacity-building support to governments and development partners. The objective is to ensure that electricity access goes beyond basic household needs and contributes directly to economic development, job creation, and income generation in local communities.

Africa has made considerable progress in improving electricity access during the past decade, but a large number of people across the continent still remain without a reliable power supply. To address this challenge, the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group launched Mission 300 with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, Sustainable Energy for All, and the Global Energy Alliance. The initiative aims to provide electricity access to 300 million additional people in Africa by 2030. According to the organizations, more than 45 million people have already been connected to electricity since July 2023.

Dana Rysankova, Lead Energy Specialist at the World Bank Group, stated that the Center of Excellence will play an important role in helping countries realize the broader goals of Mission 300. She explained that productive uses of energy can help communities move out of energy poverty by improving livelihoods and creating employment opportunities.

The organizations noted that in many African countries, electricity consumption remains limited mainly to lighting and mobile phone charging. This low level of productive energy use reduces energy demand and leaves power infrastructure underutilized, which also affects the financial sustainability of energy projects. Without stronger connections between electricity access and income-generating activities, investments in the energy sector may struggle to achieve long-term economic impact.

Makena Ireri, Managing Director of Powering Opportunity at the Global Energy Alliance, emphasized that electricity access should create real economic opportunities for people. She highlighted examples such as farmers using electricity for crop processing and storage, and small businesses operating machinery and expanding their operations.

The partnership will support governments in integrating productive use of energy into national electrification strategies and implementation plans. It will also improve coordination between public and private sector stakeholders while supporting local businesses through better access to finance and market opportunities.

The initiative will initially focus on more than 20 African countries and will work through Mission 300 National Energy Compacts and Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units. The partners believe the program will help strengthen local economies, improve coordination across energy investments and ensure that electrification leads to measurable economic and social benefits across underserved communities.

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