The effort to connect 300 million people across Africa to electricity by 2030 has reached 50 million connections, marking a significant acceleration in access to power across the continent, according to development lenders behind the initiative.
The programme, known as Mission 300, is led by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group and is designed to speed up electrification through a mix of grid expansion, mini-grids, solar home systems and policy reforms, using both new and existing investments.
“This is what progress looks like, and it is just the beginning,” said Franz Drees-Gross, World Bank Group Director of Infrastructure for West Africa, and Wale Shonibare, African Development Bank Group Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulations.
“It is not a single project with a single budget and a single implementation team,” they added.
The initiative only counts verified household electricity connections delivered between July 2023 and December 2030, regardless of when the underlying projects were approved. Data is drawn from utilities, project implementation units and government agencies and is subject to validation by the two development banks before reporting.
The World Bank Group said electricity connections under its financed operations have accelerated since the launch of the initiative, with about 12 million people connected in the first year of tracking and a further 20 million reached through April of the current fiscal year.
The African Development Bank Group said its supported operations have reached 5.2 million people in under two and a half years, compared with 9.6 million over the previous 11 years.
A growing share of new connections has come from off-grid solutions, particularly solar home systems and mini-grids, as countries seek faster ways to expand access in rural and underserved areas.
Tanzania and Nigeria are among the largest contributors to recent gains.
In Tanzania, the Rural Electrification Expansion Programme has connected nearly 8 million people since 2016, including about 5 million since July 2023 under Mission 300, alongside additional gains from a follow-on programme.
In Nigeria, 4.5 million new connections have been recorded across three programmes, including the Nigeria Electrification Project, the Nigeria Distribution Sector Recovery Programme and the DARES initiative, largely driven by solar and mini-grid deployment.
Beyond these countries, progress has also been reported in Niger, Uganda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique, across more than 40 participating countries.
The initiative also builds on existing electrification programmes in countries such as Ethiopia, where grid expansion projects were already connecting hundreds of thousands of households annually prior to the launch.
Officials say the 50 million milestone reflects not only increased financing but also improved coordination between governments, utilities and development partners, which has helped speed up delivery of electricity connections.
Mission 300 still faces a target of 300 million connections by 2030, but development banks say the current pace suggests faster progress is possible if implementation momentum is sustained.
