17 African Nations Sign On to Mission 300, Pledge Sweeping Electricity Reforms
Seventeen African nations have committed to far-reaching electricity sector reforms under the expanding Mission 300 initiative, a landmark programme spearheaded by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group. The initiative aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
The commitments were unveiled at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum in New York, where participating countries endorsed national Energy Compacts—comprehensive action plans that combine infrastructure development, financing, and regulatory reform.
The new signatories include Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
“Electricity is the bedrock of jobs, opportunity, and economic growth,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “Mission 300 is more than a target—it is forging enduring reforms that slash costs, strengthen utilities, and draw in private investment.”
Since its launch in 2024, Mission 300 has already connected 30 million people, with over 100 million additional connections in the pipeline.
African Development Bank Group President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah echoed the urgency of the initiative, noting, “Reliable, affordable power is the fastest multiplier for small and medium enterprises, agro-processing, digital work, and industrial value-addition. Give a young entrepreneur power, and you’ve given them a paycheck.”
At the core of Mission 300 are country-specific Energy Compacts, which align policy and financing strategies to local realities. With nearly 600 million Africans still lacking electricity, the initiative represents one of the continent’s most ambitious energy access drives to date.
The coalition backing Mission 300 includes the Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), all providing critical technical and financial support.
Together with an earlier cohort of 12 African nations, the 17 new members have pledged to implement over 400 policy measures to boost utility performance, attract private capital, and remove regulatory bottlenecks.
