Africa’s ambitious electrification drive, Mission 300, is gathering momentum as the World Bank Group intensifies efforts to connect millions of Africans to reliable and affordable electricity by 2030.

The initiative, led jointly by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank, aims to provide electricity access to 300 million people across the continent by the end of the decade, a target aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 on universal energy access.

New data from the World Bank’s Mission 300 Progress Portal, obtained by The PUNCH on Friday, show that more Africans are gaining access to electricity under the programme. The portal revealed that as of 2024, more than 14 million people had been connected to power across Sub-Saharan Africa through various World Bank–financed operations.

That figure, the data reveal, rose by an additional 17 million connections in 2025, reflecting an accelerated pace of electrification across multiple countries in the region. A further one million connections are planned for 2026, signalling sustained progress as new projects come online and ongoing operations expand coverage.

In total, 32 million Africans have gained access to electricity since the programme’s launch, achieving a 10.7 per cent implementation rate towards the goal of reaching 300 million people by 2030.

In addition to connections already delivered, the portal lists 92 million people expected to benefit from approved World Bank operations and another 65 million from planned operations that are still in the project pipeline.

It read, “Led by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank, Mission 300 is a unique initiative that brings together African governments, the private sector and development partners to deliver affordable power, expand electricity access, boost utility efficiency, attract private investment, and improve regional energy integration that drives economic transformation.

“To accelerate energy access through Mission 300, the WBG will connect 250 million people to electricity and the AfDB another 50 million by 2030. Since its launch, the World Bank Group has connected 32 million people in Africa to electricity.”

Mission 300 brings together African governments, development banks, the private sector and other partners to expand electricity access through a mix of grid expansion, mini-grids and off-grid solar solutions, while improving utility performance and mobilising private investment. Under the initiative, the World Bank Group has a target of connecting 250 million people, while the African Development Bank plans to reach 50 million people by 2030.

Nigeria remains a key focus of the Mission 300 push. The World Bank-backed Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme aims to provide over 17.5 million Nigerians with new or improved electricity access by scaling up solar home systems and mini-grids and replacing more than 250,000 polluting diesel generators.

The DARES project builds on earlier off-grid efforts and seeks to mobilise private sector players to scale deployment.

At the continental level, leaders adopted the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration at the Africa Heads of State Energy Summit in January 2025, formalising commitments to scale up electricity access and submit national energy compacts to the African Union for consideration.

The government has also set out national targets under a Mission 300 compact. In July 2025, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, said Nigeria’s compact would require roughly $32.8bn in investment, of which $15.5bn is expected from private investors. To coordinate delivery, Abuja has established a Compact Delivery and Monitoring Unit to track reforms and investment pipelines.

The minister informed stakeholders that the government is addressing sector challenges, including market liquidity, arrears and infrastructure gaps. He disclosed that the Federal Government’s verified debt to power companies stood at roughly N4tn, an issue the administration says it is tackling as part of efforts to stabilise the market.

The compact outlines clear, investable targets: doubling the annual electricity access growth rate from 4 to 9 per cent and increasing access to clean cooking solutions from 22 to 25 per cent per year.

Nigeria, home to the largest population without access to electricity in Africa, remains a major beneficiary of the programme. Through the DARES initiative, the World Bank supports the deployment of solar home systems and mini-grids to benefit over 17.5 million Nigerians, representing nearly 20 per cent of the country’s unserved population.

The project also aims to phase out more than 250,000 polluting and expensive diesel generators while creating jobs in the clean energy value chain.