Seventeen African governments have committed to reforms and actionable plans to expand electricity access as part of Mission 300, which is a partnership between development finance institutions (DFIs) the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group that aims to connect 300-million Africans to electricity by 2030.

Specifically, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Principe, Sierra Leone and Togo endorsed national energy compacts (NECs), which are blueprints that guide public spending reforms and help attract private capital.

“Electricity is the bedrock of jobs, opportunity and economic growth. Mission 300 aims to forge enduring reforms that slash costs, strengthen utilities and draw in private investment,” says World Bank Group president Ajay Banga.

Since the launch of Mission 300, 30-million people have already been connected to electricity systems, with more than 100-million people to be connected as part of the development pipeline, he adds.

"Reliable, affordable power is the fastest multiplier for small and medium-sized enterprises, agroprocessing, digital work and industrial value-addition. If entrepreneurs are given power, they can generate paycheques,” says AfDB Group president Dr Sidi Ould Tah.

Further, Mission 300 partners include the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Sustainable Energy for All and the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme trust fund to align efforts in support of powering Africa.

Many development partners and DFIs are also supporting Mission 300 projects through cofinancing and technical assistance.

NECs are developed and endorsed by governments with technical support from development partners. They are tailored to each country's context and are blueprints that integrate three core tracks, namely infrastructure, financing and policy.

Earlier this year, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia endorsed NECs.

Together, they pledged to make more than 400 policy actions to strengthen utilities, reduce investor risk and remove bottlenecks to boost electricity access.