This gap not only creates different energy needs and decarbonization challenges. It also limits Africa’s economic growth, deepening inequalities in health, education and opportunities.

We’ve seen before how ‘leapfrog innovation’ can overcome such long-standing barriers. Across Africa, bold ideas are currently transforming the energy landscape from scarcity and exclusion to inclusion, resilience, and sustainability.

A leading example is Mission 300, which aims to give 300 million Africans reliable electricity by 2030. Its five-layered approach – strong governance, regional cooperation, decentralized infrastructure, innovative finance, and human-centered outcomes – is reshaping Africa’s energy future. In this blog, I’ve suggested lessons other countries can learn from its approach, particularly those in the developing world. Thanks to Dr Ibukunolu Oladunjoye and other esteemed colleagues for their valuable contributions!

1. Governance can accelerate progress or derail it

Effective governance is fundamental for expanding energy access and keeping supply secure. Yet in the 2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, only 11 African countries scored above 60%.

On the flipside, poor governance has led some countries to raise their standards. Senegal, Kenya, and Rwanda have all implemented strong regulatory frameworks grounded in the principles of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. These also align with broader continental frameworks like the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) and the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).

Senegal came top in the African Development Bank (AfDB) 2024 Electricity Regulatory Index thanks to reforms that included establishing a national energy regulator. Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has boosted investor confidence through tariff reforms. And Rwanda’s Rural Electrification Strategy (RES) has enabled one of the fastest off-grid solar expansions on the continent.

What other countries can do

  • Apply principles of transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and the rule of law to make sure reforms are inclusive and resilient.
  • Use legal frameworks like Kenya’s Energy Act, and independent regulators such as Rwanda’s RURA and Senegal’s CRSE, to build investor confidence and accountability.
  • Align national and regional reforms with continental initiatives to improve integration and financing. 

2. Regional cooperation and market integration are key to widening energy access

Africa’s fragmentated power landscape makes it hard for countries to pool resources, share infrastructure, or build resilient systems that can deliver energy to all. This leaves many countries with frequent outages, high generation costs, and poor rural coverage, while countries with surplus renewable power can’t transmit it to their neighbours.

To strengthen regional cooperation, governments and regional bodies are harmonizing regulatory frameworks, scaling regional power pools and investing in cross-border transmission corridors. The Southern African Power Pool allows 12 countries to trade energy while the West African Power Pool links 14 national grids. The Eastern Africa Power Pool is expanding fast, with Ethiopia transmitting hydropower to Djibouti, Sudan and Kenya. And transmission corridors like the Cahora Bassa-South Africa line and the Ivory Coast-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Ghana line show how regional infrastructure can stabilize supply and unlock renewable energy resources.

That said, many projects still move slowly due to limited financing, political uncertainty, and weak institutional capacity. Demand also often outpaces cross-border infrastructure while regulatory misalignment puts off private investors.

What other countries can do

  • Put the foundations of regional collaboration in place: strong political will, stable governance, predictable financing models, and policy that consistently aligns.
  • Support regional power pools with harmonized rules, shared planning, and investment in cross-border transmission so countries can trade energy more easily and cheaply.

3. Decentralized infrastructure improves resilience as well as access

Several African countries, including Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, have electrification rates of below 30%. Centralized grid systems often fail to reach rural and remote areas due to high costs and limited coverage. And high demand in urban areas overloads a grid that hasn’t been upgraded enough to cope. The sector also lacks skilled professionals to design, maintain, and expand modern energy systems.

These gaps limit access to energy while preventing it from driving broader development outcomes. Integrated Energy Systems (IES) are part of the answer, but rolling these out means modernizing the grid, decentralizing infrastructure and upskilling the workforce.

Governments and partners across the continent are tackling this challenge through Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) systems and hybrid grid solutions. The Africa Minigrids Program (AMP) supports early-stage mini-grid markets in 21 countries with the aim of bringing solar-battery power to 265 million people by 2030. For example, Ethiopia is connecting over 100 rural towns with solar mini-grids. Nigeria has mobilized over $500 million for mini-grids and solar home systems, and Angola is building 65 solar mini-grids with a $1.6 billion loan. Community energy systems and pay-as-you-go solar solutions have also gained traction, with 45% of African countries now using net metering or similar policies to incentivize distributed solar.

Together, these solutions offer a blueprint for island states, disaster-prone regions, and underserved rural populations to leapfrog conventional centralized grids and build flexible, renewable, climate-proof systems by default.

What other countries can do

  • Invest in integrated energy systems that make the grid more resilient, so both industrial hubs and underserved communities have more reliable power.
  • Invest in the skills to design, build, and maintain those systems, so you can scale solutions faster and keep them running.

4. Innovative financing models can also be more inclusive

The cost of deploying energy access solutions in Africa, especially in remote and underserved areas, is often prohibitively high. Meeting the climate commitments in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) puts an extra burden on public budgets. Yet Africa receives only 3% of the climate finance for developing countries and overseas development aid is down 11%.

Countries are addressing the shortfall by mobilizing domestic funds, finding innovative financial models and building strategic partnerships. The Africa Initiative has helped 39 countries find over €4.2 billion in extra revenue. African innovators such as Kenya’s M-KOPA and Uganda’s Fenix International are also reaching millions of homes with mobile-enabled, Pay-As-You-Go solar power and appliance financing.

Meanwhile, alliances like the Africa Alliance of Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFIs) and Mission 300 are mobilizing blended finance through public-private partnerships (PPPs), local currency financing, green bonds and more.

What other countries can do

  • Adapt and replicate these models in regions with large, underserved populations. The models should work across borders and be backed by strong national leadership.
  • Democratize access to clean energy by tailoring inclusive, flexible payment systems to the cash flows of poor and vulnerable households.

5. Energy access must address the needs of those it affects the most

For many communities, the critical issue isn’t energy access. It’s what energy enables, and for whom. Energy poverty disproportionately affects women, children, and young people, so solutions must factor in their needs and measure real-life improvements. That way, energy access becomes a driver of social and economic progress.

Across Africa, there are powerful examples of how tying energy policy directly to health, education and work multiplies its impact. In rural Ghana, electrification has dramatically reduced maternal mortality by allowing clinics to provide 24-hour emergency care. Solar-powered irrigation pumps in Ethiopia have stabilized the water supply, improving agriculture and food security. And in Nigeria, youth-led startups are bringing power to small and medium enterprises in markets, directly boosting livelihoods.

What other countries can do

  • Consider human impacts and prioritize social transformation over technical metrics when setting energy planning standards – regional, national and global.
  • Embed energy in the broader human development agenda by measuring success in terms of school attendance, healthier families, thriving farms, and digital inclusion.

A dual challenge

African countries must not only make energy more widely available; they must also minimize the impact of this progress on global warming. With less than 4% of global emissions currently originating from Africa, the continent has an opportunity to deliver inclusive, climate-smart energy access at scale. It could even become the world’s first truly green region. Other countries could learn a lot from its innovative approach.