Between July 2023 and April 2026, the World Bank Group’s Mission 300 initiative successfully connected 50 million Africans to electricity, making headway against the continent’s massive energy deficit. The initiative aims to provide electricity to 300 million people across Africa by 2030 through a combination of grid expansions, decentralized mini-grids, and off-grid renewable energy. World Bank Group President Ajay Banga emphasized that the initiative goes beyond generating power, serving as a fundamental driver for employment, healthcare, and economic opportunity. Despite this progress, the latest tracking report highlights that nearly 600 million Africans still lack power, leaving the continent with the world’s largest energy access gap.
The progress report, which monitored 85 active projects across 40 African nations, revealed that Tanzania led the continent by adding 7.5 million people to the grid, followed by Ethiopia with 4.67 million connections. Nigeria ranked third, successfully bringing electricity to approximately 4.51 million citizens—meaning the country accounted for roughly one in every 11 new connections delivered across the continent.
