Nigeria’s participation in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where President Bola Tinubu joined other African leaders at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit underpins concerted efforts of government in brokering new deals and cooperation to build resilient energy security across the region.
The two-day Summit, hosted by the government of Tanzania in collaboration with the African Union, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the World Bank Group, adopted the Dar es Salaam Declaration.
The Declaration focused on providing access to electricity for 300 million people in Africa by 2030.
A high point of the event was the presidential endorsement of the Dar es Salaam Declaration by African leaders at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre.
Following the reading of the Declaration, leaders from Nigeria, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia signed the document.
Through the Declaration, the leaders from the 12 countries expressed their commitment to ensuring electricity access for their citizens in the next five years.
The 12 nations plan to achieve the goal through National Energy Compacts, which identify specific policy measures to address constraints across their energy sector and set targets based on their unique context.
In the speech read by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, the Nigerian leader lauded the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank Group, and development partners for their collective pledge to bring electricity access to 300 million people in Africa by 2030.
President Tinubu called on African leaders to prioritise energy access, emphasising collective action.
“Let us work together to create a brighter future for our citizens—where every African can access reliable and affordable energy.
“A future where our industries thrive, our economies grow, and our people prosper,” the president said in the speech by the minister of power.
President Tinubu also used the occasion to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to providing reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity to its unelectrified population by 2030.
“This is an ambitious goal, but we can achieve it together.
“As Nigeria’s president, I am committed to making energy access a top priority,” he said.
Detailing the substantial progress Nigeria has achieved with the support of international development partners, President Tinubu acknowledged AfDB’s $1.1 billion, expected to provide electricity for 5 million people by the end of 2026, while its $200 million in the Nigeria Electrification Project will provide electricity for 500,000 people by the end of 2025.
“We also look forward to the AfDB’s planned $700 million investment in the Nigeria Desert to Power programme and its planned $500 million facility for the Nigeria-Grid Battery Energy Storage System, which will provide electricity for an additional two million people.
“We have equally begun making plans to ensure the effectiveness of the World Bank’s $750 million support for expanding Nigeria’s distributed energy access via mini-grids and standalone solar systems that will provide access to power to 16.2 million people,” he said.
President Tinubu thanked Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, and Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina of AfDB for their transformative vision, which he said “will light up and power Africa.”
He also applauded the contributions of the UN Sustainable Energy For All, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Global Energy Alliance for Development.
“As we all know, Africa is rich in energy resources, yet millions of our citizens still lack access to reliable and affordable energy.
“This situation is unacceptable. It is our responsibility to take collective action to change this narrative,” President Tinubu said.
President Tinubu highlighted ongoing investments in renewable energy, particularly solar power in Nigeria.
“For example, the federal government is in the final stages of developing an electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure programme emphasising renewable energy and establishing stricter vehicle emission standards.
“This will ease adoption barriers, galvanise partnerships, and provide affordable EV financing options. I am pleased to announce that the first 100 electric buses are already in the country.
“Nigeria’s energy sector is growing as a direct result of our reforms. The Nigerian government continues incentivising those interested in investing in renewable energy, oil and gas energy efficiency,” he said.
He said that buoyed by Nigeria’s successful attraction of over $6 billion in new investments into its energy sector in 2024 alone, his administration is keen to build on this success in 2025 and beyond.
At the Summit, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced that it has committed $70 million in private sector funding to five Nigerian Renewable Electricity Service Companies (RESCOs) under the Nigeria Distributed Access Through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) programme.
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) will implement the project.
Nigeria’s National Energy Compact, presented at the Summit on Monday, sets targets with implementation timelines and outlines the various planned reforms.
They include expanding power generation and investing in transmission and distribution infrastructure at competitive costs, working towards financially viable utilities that provide reliable service, and incentivising private sector participation to unlock additional resources.
Other reform actions include embracing distributed renewable energy and clean cooking solutions for affordable last-mile access and leveraging the benefits of increased regional integration.
According to the document, Nigeria will require an investment of $23.2 billion for last-mile electrification, including contributions from the public and private sectors.
Mission 300 Initiative To Expand Electricity Access
African energy and finance ministers at the summit proudly and overwhelmingly endorsed an ambitious new partnership to transform the continent’s power sector at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit while highlighting their countries’ distinct paths toward achieving universal access to electricity.
Mission 300 represents an unprecedented collaboration between the African Development Bank, the World Bank Group, the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), as well as other global partners including the African Union, the United Nations and regional development banks. The initiative leverages new technology and innovative financing approaches to address Africa’s electricity access gap.
In a high-level panel discussion, ministers representing South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria emphasised that while each nation faces unique challenges, success will require political leadership, policy reforms, and private sector participation.
Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Zambia are among twelve countries that will present their energy compacts during the two-day summit. The other nine are Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Tanzania and Senegal.
Under Mission 300, “every country will be able to carve its own unique path,” noted South Africa’s Minister of Electricity, Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. He outlined three key priorities for the electricity sector: affordability and accessibility, a just and affordable transition, and regional interconnectivity, noting that “essentially, we see ourselves as a connection of countries that are connected by these regional pools.”
“Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, highlighted his country’s role in regional power trade: “There are six countries with whom we exchange electricity and to which we export electricity.” Referencing the country’s gas and hydro power potential, he described plans to double the quantity of energy exports to the country’s neighbours by 2030. He however also emphasized payment challenges in cross-border electricity trade: ‘The electricity that we export, we are not always paid for it, which of course does create a huge challenge.’
Zambia’s minister of finance, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, highlighted his country’s urgent need to expand power generation to support ambitious mining sector growth. “We are on a trajectory to triple copper production in the next ten years,” he said. “That requires electricity. We must minimise dependence on hydroelectric power and diversify our energy sources.” He emphasised that recent reforms have created attractive opportunities for private investors and invited them to “come to Zambia and invest in energy.”
Wale Edun, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, highlighted the country’s progress in attracting private investment: “Since the regulation of the sector, we’ve had 150 mini-grids set up and a million standalone solar connections in recent times.” He emphasised the sector’s profit potential as key to attracting private investment: Drawing a parallel with the mobile telecommunications sector, he noted, “There was a time people would say that telephones are for the wealthy, the preserve of the rich. And now everybody has one.” He stressed that a similar “revolution” needed to take place in Nigeria’s energy sector.
Kenya’s minister of energy and petroleum Opiyo Wandayi stressed the importance of partnerships: “To achieve such an ambitious plan that is bound to benefit millions of people, it is not possible to do it alone. The principle of partnership is at the center of our strategy in terms of not only ensuring universal access to electricity but also in implementing our clean cooking strategy.”
Dr. Kevin Kariuki, African Development Bank Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth opened the panel discussion by setting out Mission 300’s ambitious scope: “We shall provide fast and energy-efficient solutions to 300 million people across Africa. This effort is targeted at development. It is difficult, it is challenging, but cost-effective outcomes can play a crucial role.”
The summit will produce two key outcomes: the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration, outlining commitments and practical actions from African governments to reform the energy sector, and the first set of National Energy Compacts, serving as blueprints with country-specific targets and implementation timelines.
The Summit has brought together more than 1,000 participants, including several heads of state, development partners, and strong representation from the private sector.
President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina set the tone for the summit during the opening session: “This is not a talking summit. We can do megawatts of talk all we want, but it’s going to be the megawatts of power that we deliver that make this an action-driven summit. We need everybody – the heads of state, the private sector, the multilateral development banks, civil society – all of us working together. It’s not about us. It’s about those who are not here – the small business enterprises trying to simply have access to electricity to run our economies.”
Reaping Key International Interventions
Nigeria interestingly was among nations to benefit from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and The Rockefeller Foundation energy initiatives.
The group had at the forum introduced 23 new energy access projects in 11 African countries and across the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which seeks to supply power to about 300 million Africans by 2030.
The beneficiary countries include: Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire. Others are: Liberia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Malawi.
The projects are funded through an initial $10 million commitment by the two organisations to the Mission 300 Technical Assistance Facility, which was launched in September 2024 to provide more flexible, short- and medium-term technical assistance.
Besides, the collaboration is in support of the World Bank Group and African Development Bank (AfDB) initiative to provide improved electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030.
“The Rockefeller Foundation created the Mission 300 Accelerator to demonstrate how philanthropy can break through bureaucratic obstacles to jumpstart World Bank and African Development Bank energy projects.
“In just a few short months, we have worked with the GEAPP, Sustainable Energy for All and the banks to advance two dozen projects, putting us on track to bring reliable electricity to 300 million people across Africa at unprecedented speed,” said Andrew Herscowitz, Chief Executive of the Mission 300 Accelerator.
“We are delighted to have made significant strides on a series of impactful projects that GEAPP and The Rockefeller Foundation are developing with strategic partners across Africa. The design and preparation of these initiatives is advancing an Africa-led mission that unlocks power where it is needed most,” he added.
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Chief Executive, GEAPP, Woochong Um, stated that by improving local skills, capacity, and implementation efforts, the organisation supports African governments, institutional partners, and businesses with new financial tools.
In addition he stated that they are bankable projects that boost cooperation and innovation and fuel sustainable growth for communities across the continent, with more than 50 per cent of its current portfolio by value invested in Africa.
In addition to GEAPP’s support for the Accelerator’s new investments, the Alliance, which has 63 projects in more than 20 African countries, the group said, is already working intensively with the AfDB and World Bank to design and accelerate electrification efforts in several African markets.
Currently, Africa has an average electrification rate of 50 per cent and is home to approximately 600 million without access to reliable electricity. Co-housed within GEAPP and RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC), The Rockefeller Foundation’s public charity launched in 2020 to pool and align resources.
The Accelerator is designed to swiftly deploy philanthropic capital for TA across sub-Saharan Africa. In support of African governments’ and the two multilateral development banks’ efforts to accelerate the pace and efficiency of electricity access projects across the continent, the Facility’s first projects are expected to include the listed countries.
In Nigeria, it will be supporting the Distributed Renewable Energy Enhancement Facility (DREEF), which seeks to provide project preparation and sponsor support to pathfinder DRE developers including interconnected mini-grid projects, mini-grid projects, and standalone solar system as a service business model.
It will also support project preparation for transmission and projects under the AfDB’s Desert to Power programme in the country, where the rate of population growth has outpaced the increase in electrification (World Bank).
The support will also provide technical and quality review of projects under the Desert to Power programme and provide a project coordination office for all electrification projects.
The GEAPP is an alliance of philanthropy, governments, technology, policy, and financing partners, while The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation.
Closing Energy Funding Gap
Nigeria is taking bold steps to revive its faltering power sector, aiming to attract $15 billion in private investments while keeping its most vulnerable citizens in mind. At a World Bank energy summit in Tanzania, the government outlined a plan that combines higher electricity tariffs with fresh subsidies to ease the burden on households.
Under the proposal, households will receive 50 kilowatt hours of subsidized electricity monthly, either through direct consumption or vouchers. This is part of a broader effort to address a massive $23 billion funding gap in the power sector and bring electricity to the 86 million Nigerians still living in the dark.
Despite being Africa’s top natural gas producer with abundant hydro and solar resources, Nigeria generates a paltry 13,000 megawatts of electricity for over 200 million people. For comparison, South Africa, with just 62 million people, produces 52,000 megawatts. Frequent blackouts and widespread reliance on private generators have become the norm for Nigerians who can afford them.
The government’s pitch includes plans to double the number of households connected to the grid annually and boost renewable energy from 22 per cent to 50 per cent of the generation mix within five years.
While the nation removed subsidies for about 15 per cent of urban households last year, tripling tariffs, it still spent 2.2 trillion naira on subsidies. The new plan aims to implement full-cost tariffs by 2027 while providing a buffer for vulnerable households.