African Finance Institutions Push to Mobilise Local Capital for Powering 300 Million People
African development finance institutions are stepping up efforts to mobilise local capital in support of one of the continent’s most ambitious energy programmes, aimed at providing electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
The renewed commitment emerged during discussions held on the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, where financial leaders called for stronger cooperation among African lenders and increased deployment of domestic resources to support the Mission 300 initiative.
Mission 300, a joint programme led by the African Development Bank and the World Bank, seeks to significantly expand electricity access across Africa. The project is expected to require approximately $238 billion in financing, with nearly half of that amount projected to come from private sector investors.
Participants at the meeting noted that African development finance institutions collectively manage about $250 billion in assets, while commercial banks across the continent hold an estimated $2.5 trillion that could potentially be channelled into infrastructure and energy projects.
A major boost to the initiative came from the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which announced a commitment of about 1.1 billion CFA francs (€1.7 million) to support the programme.
Speaking at the event, AfDB Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, Kevin Kariuki, stressed that no single institution could achieve the programme’s goals alone. He called for the creation of a coalition of African development finance institutions to improve coordination, align investment priorities, and maximise the impact of funding directed toward energy development.
The proposed coalition is expected to bring together key regional financial institutions, including the Trade and Development Bank, Africa50, the African Guarantee Fund, and Cygnum Capital.
Delegates also highlighted the need to attract more private sector participation through blended finance arrangements and risk-sharing mechanisms. They argued that reducing investment risks would be essential to unlocking large-scale funding for energy infrastructure across the continent.
Financial experts pointed to the vast pool of untapped domestic capital available within Africa. According to Constant N’zi, directing even a small portion of the $2.5 trillion held by African commercial banks toward infrastructure projects could significantly accelerate economic growth and improve electricity access.
Trade and Development Bank Group President, Admassu Tadesse, reaffirmed his institution’s support for Mission 300, describing reliable electricity as a critical driver of industrialisation, economic transformation, and improved living standards across Africa.
Participants concluded that achieving the initiative’s objectives would depend on stronger collaboration among financial institutions, increased mobilisation of African capital, and wider use of guarantees and blended finance instruments to attract long-term investment into the continent’s energy sector.
