As global finance leaders gather for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings this week, Mission 300 — an ambitious plan to bring electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030 — is drawing renewed attention from policymakers, development experts, and financiers tracking Africa’s energy future.
One year after its launch at last year’s Spring Meetings, the initiative is gaining momentum, even as questions persist about its strategy, financing, and feasibility.
Spearheaded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, the initiative pledges to double investments in African power systems, implement key policy reforms, and deliver both grid-based and off-grid electricity access. The World Bank is putting between $30 billion and $40 billion behind it, while the African Development Bank is adding $18.2 billion. Some 600 million people in Africa, or roughly half the continent’s population, lack access to electricity.