Several African nations committed on Monday to open up their electricity sectors to attract investors and light up homes of 300 million people currently lacking power in the next six years.
The continent has the highest number of people without access to electricity globally and is racing to connect homes to power by 2030 under a plan dubbed "Mission 300" launched by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in April.
The push aims to unlock at least $90 billion in capital from multilateral development banks, development agencies, finance institutions, private businesses and philanthropies, according to the Rockefeller Foundation, which is part of the initiative, Reuters reported.
"We want to expand and rehabilitate our electricity grids using the least cost possible," said Kevin Kariuki, vice president for infrastructure at the AfDB during an energy summit of African heads of state in Tanzania's commercial capital.
Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Tanzania were among a dozen countries that committed to reform their electricity utility companies, push renewable energy integration and raise national electricity connection targets.
Multilateral development banks and commercial banks represented at the summit will use the country's commitments to persuade their clients to invest in Africa's energy sectors, said World Bank President Ajay Banga.
Providing 300 million people with access to electricity, half of those currently without power on the continent, is a crucial building block for boosting Africa's development by creating new jobs, Banga said.
The World Bank expects to spend $30-40 billion on the plan, Banga said, while the AfDB will provide $10-15 billion, and the rest will come from private investors and other sources.
"The World Bank will pay countries as part of our support only when they make the (regulatory and policy) changes," Banga said.
Private capital has in the past blamed unfriendly regulations, red tape and currency risks for making investments in Africa's electricity sector hard.
Half of the targeted new connections will get electricity from existing national grids, the World Bank and the AfDB said, while the other half will be from renewable energy sources, including wind and solar mini-grids.
