Inside a New Plan to Bring Electricity to 300 Million in Africa
The leaders of more than half of Africa's nations gathered this week in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's sprawling seaside metropolis, to commit to the biggest burst of spending on electric-power generation in Africa's history.
The World Bank, African Development Bank and others are pledging at least $35 billion to expand electricity across a continent where more than a half-billion people still don't have it. About half of the money will go toward solar 'minigrids' that serve individual communities. The loans will come at below-market interest rates, a crucial stipulation as global lenders usually charge much higher rates in Africa, citing higher risks.
In an interview, Ajay Banga, the president of the World Bank, cast the initiative in sweeping terms where economic development met societal stability and basic human rights. 'Without electricity, we can't get jobs, health care, skills,' he said. The success of electrification, he said, is 'foundational to everything.'
The summit's promise is to get half of Africa's 600 million unelectrified people powered up in just six years. That averages out to five million people a month. Mr. Banga said the World Bank, on its own, had not yet even passed the one-million-a-month mark.
More people without power in sub-Saharan Africa
The number of people without access to electricity grew by 100 million from 2000 to 2022 as population growth outpaced electrification.
Source: World Bank
Nick Underwood/The New York Times
Despite the unusually strong statements of political will, many people, particularly in Africa's beleaguered power sector, expressed deep skepticism. In fact, some noted that one need not look farther than the host country, Tanzania, to find a cautionary tale.
2000
2023
Source: Chen et al, Earth System Science Data (2018) v5
By Nick Underwood/The New York Times
0
25
50
75
100%
No
data
Algeria
0%
Egypt
0%
Mauritania
51%
Chad
88%
Nigeria
45%
Ethiopia
45%
Dem.
Rep.
Congo
79%
Angola
52%
Madagascar
64%
South
Africa
14%
1000 miles
Source: World Bank, 2022 electricity access estimates
By Nick Underwood/The New York Times
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