Mission 300 Accelerates as Seventeen More African Countries Launch Energy Compacts
Mission 300, the ambitious initiative led by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank Group to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, has made a major stride with the unveiling of a second batch of National Energy Compacts by seventeen African countries.
This brings the total number of countries with finalised compacts to twenty-nine since the launch of Mission 300 in January 2025. The compacts set out data-driven targets, policy measures, and resource commitments from African governments to achieve the programme’s objectives, emphasising country-led implementation, community engagement, and robust monitoring mechanisms.
The launch took place at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum, held alongside the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York. Attendees included the Presidents of Ethiopia, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, the Prime Ministers of Lesotho and São Tomé & Príncipe, and Michael Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, alongside senior officials, development partners, and private sector representatives.
The seventeen “Cohort 2” countries—Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé & Príncipe, Sierra Leone, and Togo—join twelve countries in the first cohort unveiled in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Speaking at the event, Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, highlighted that Mission 300 has already connected 30 million Africans to electricity, with projects underway to reach over 100 million more. “The progress is measurable,” he said, noting over 400 policy actions identified in the first batch of compacts to strengthen utilities, simplify regulation, and improve the business environment.
AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to scaling up access, mobilising resources, and fostering collaboration among public, private, and philanthropic partners. Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder and CEO of Acumen, announced that the USD 250 million Hardest-to-Reach Fund has reached financial close, delivering off-grid solar electricity to 70 million low-income Africans across 16 countries.
Mission 300 aims to halve the number of Africans without electricity, currently estimated at 600 million—83 percent of the global total. The initiative is supported by partners including SEforAll, the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and a consortium of multilateral development banks, with pledged financing exceeding USD 6 billion.
Through Mission 300, the AfDB provides direct financing, mobilises private sector investment, and offers technical assistance for regulatory reforms, power utility upgrades, and the operationalisation of Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units within national governments.
