Rockefeller Foundation invests $15.9m to expand electricity access in Africa

During the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit, The Rockefeller Foundation announced an additional US$15.9 million to support the African Development Bank Group’s (AfDB) and the World Bank Group’s ambitious goal of providing access to electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.

As part of the landmark gathering â€” hosted by the United Republic of Tanzania, African Union, AfDB, and World Bank Group â€” The Rockefeller Foundation intends to invest US$10 million into “Zafiri,” the World Bank Group’s new distributed renewable energy (DRE) investment company.

With funding from The Rockefeller Foundation, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC) is also expecting to provide up to US$2.5 million in grant funding to ODI Global Washington to develop a new fellowship program that will help African governments meet their Mission 300 commitments and US$3.4 million to Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) to monitor progress, implement programs across the continent, and develop new local currency financing tools.

“Access to electricity will determine the quality of Africa’s future and, because of its growing youth population, the world’s. By connecting 300 million Africans to electricity for the first time, Mission 300 will make all our futures more prosperous and secure. The Rockefeller Foundation is doing everything we can to accelerate Mission 300 because we know changing energy changes lives,” said Rockefeller Foundation president Dr. Rajiv J. Shah.

Accelerating energy access in Africa
Investing in DRE financing through IFC’s Project Zafiri

The Rockefeller Foundation expects to invest US$10 million into Zafiri, a new investment company led and designed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), also known as the World Bank Group’s private sector arm.

Anchored with co-investments from IFC, AfDB, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the International Development Association, Zafiri will provide patient equity to scale Africa’s private sector-led DRE sector.

This includes providing equity financing, along with funding for project preparation support, to companies developing mini- and metro-grids, solar home systems, impact-driven DRE installations, battery energy storage systems, clean cooking solutions and more.

Zafiri will focus on impact, with a particular focus on new connections and emissions reduction solutions, enabling more than 30 million people to receive clean energy access by 2030.

“Millions of people across Africa lack access to electricity, a situation that is both untenable and unfathomable in the 21st century. With our partners, we are committed to bringing reliable, affordable power to homes, schools, and businesses across the continent, and the investment vehicle launched today is an important part of that strategy. Together we are unlocking investment into a sector that will transform the continent’s economic and social future, driving the change needed to power Africa’s progress,” stated IFC managing director Makhtar Diop.

Developing the new Mission 300 Fellowship Program with ODI Global Washington

With funding from The Rockefeller Foundation, RFCC’s Mission 300 Accelerator, expects to provide ODI Global Washington with an up to US$2.5 million grant to design, launch, and oversee a new Mission 300 Fellowship program.

As part of a larger government enablement strategy to advance countries’ Mission 300 goals, the Fellows will support African governments in their execution of new energy compacts signed during the Africa Energy Summit.

Once up and running later this year, 10-15 highly qualified, early career professionals will be embedded in government energy ministries and offices. Over a period of two years, these Fellows will help expand energy access by supporting local officials to devise and implement reforms as part of their energy compacts.

The program will also prioritize Fellows who are citizens of African states, promoting localization and investing in the next generation of talent.

“For over 60 years, the ODI Fellowship Scheme has supported thinly stretched public servants in low- and middle-income countries to advance government priorities in finance, health, education, and more. The launch of the Mission 300 Fellowship will address a critical need – electrification – vital to achieving economic growth and prosperity, and, even more important, improving daily lives for millions on the continent,” said director of ODI global advisory and head of the ODI fellowship scheme, Sasha Kapadia.

Accelerating Mission 300 implementation with SEforALL

With funding from The Rockefeller Foundation, RFCC’s Mission 300 Accelerator is providing a US$3.4 million grant to SEforALL to help the AfDB and The World Bank Group to deliver Mission 300, alongside supporting the organization’s focus on reducing energy poverty.

The scope includes developing energy transition plans and supporting data-driven energy access planning in Mission 300 compact countries, which will help create the market and regulatory readiness needed to drive new energy connections.

Because the global rise in interest rates significantly impacted economies across Africa in the form of inflation and currency depreciation, SEforALL will also be collaborating with partners to develop innovative financing instruments to enable private participation in local currency financing platforms.

With the initial phase focused on Nigeria, SEforALL and partners aim to create a new pan-African local currency mechanism that will not only protect local investors from the risks associated with the volatility of currency markets but will also lay the groundwork to unlock currently unavailable sources of capital for developers across Africa.

In addition, SEforALL will provide technical support to African governments as they work to implement their countries’ Mission 300 compacts and to help the AfDB and the World Bank track progress against their Mission 300 targets for each country.

“SEforALL recognizes its role, along with that of The Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, as that of an enabler to the bold Mission 300 initiative in support of the World Bank and the African Development Bank; and as such, the commitment of support for our work is both a strong and clear indication of The Rockefeller Foundation’s commitment to ending energy poverty; and taking the big bets needed to advance action at the scale and pace needed to meet the SDG 7 Goal by 2030,” said CEO and special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and co-chair of UN-Energy Damilola Ogunbiyi.

This latest round of funding builds upon The Rockefeller Foundation’s and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet’s (GEAPP) initial US$10 million into the RFCC’s Mission 300 Accelerator. During the African Energy Summit, the Mission 300 Technical Assistance Facility also introduced 23 new energy access projects in 11 African countries and across the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

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