AfrElec: World Bank, AfDB aim to connect 300mn Africans to electricity by 2030

The World Bank Group and the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group are partnering on an ambitious effort to provide at least 300mn people in Africa with electricity access by 2030.

The initiative could halve the number of people in Africa living without electricity access, the World Bank said in a press statement on April 17.

The World Bank Group, according to the statement, will work to connect 250mn people to electricity through distributed renewable energy systems or the distribution grid, while the AfDB will support an additional 50mn people.

"Electricity access is the bedrock of all development. It is a critical ingredient for economic growth and essential for job creation at scale,” said Ajay Banga, World Bank Group president.

“Our aspiration will only be realized with partnership and ambition. We will need policy action from governments, financing from multilateral development banks, and private sector investment to see this through,” he added.

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