Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance Invests $100m To Expand Electricity In Africa

The Rockefeller Foundation and Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (Global Energy Alliance) have announced that they have committed more than $100 million to date to support Mission 300, the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank’s ambitious effort to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030.
The information was made public at the Powering Africa Summit in Washington, D.C.

Since The Rockefeller Foundation and the Alliance announced their first $10 million for Mission 300 in September 2024, they have helped strengthen government delivery capacity through technical assistance, mobilized private investment, accelerated project pipelines, and advanced electrification efforts in nearly two dozen countries.
Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, announced that their joint commitment has increased more than tenfold to US$100 million during a fireside chat with The Hon. Chris Wright, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, where they also discussed the importance of bringing clean cooking support to communities in sub-Saharan Africa – a key priority of Mission 300.

Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, said: “Mission 300 is fundamentally about delivery, and turning ambition into results at scale. Catalytic capital from partners such as The Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Energy Alliance plays a critical role in strengthening government delivery capacity, de-risking investments, and accelerating projects that can mobilize much larger flows of public and private finance.”

“The Rockefeller Foundation has made its biggest-ever bet on connecting people to electricity as the single best pathway out of large-scale poverty,” *said Dr. Shah.* “Our investment in Mission 300 reflects our commitment to the best way of advancing human well-being in the 21st century: putting countries in the lead, harnessing frontier technology, and focusing relentlessly on achievable, measurable goals. We look forward to working with partners to continue the extraordinary momentum behind Mission 300 and connect even more people in Africa, including its growing youth populations, to jobs, dignity, and prosperity.”

Currently, 730 million people still lack access to basic electricity, and an estimated 85% of those live in sub-Saharan Africa. This shortage hinders healthcare, education, digital inclusion, women and children empowerment, the creation of local jobs, building economic opportunity, and more. According to the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, lack of access to electricity is the single greatest predictor of extreme poverty.

“Reliable, affordable, abundant electricity is essential for jobs, prosperity, and resilience,” *said Woochong Um, CEO of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet* “Our Alliance is proud to support Mission 300, bringing together the governments, development banks, philanthropies, non-profits, and private sector partners that can help unlock investment and accelerate delivery. From Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units that help governments implement national energy plans, to distributed renewable energy and productive-use programs, our focus is on ensuring that new electricity connections translate into durable economic opportunity for people and communities across Africa.”

A partnership between World Bank and the African Development Bank, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance, and Sustainable Energy for All, Mission 300 translates commitments into implementation through national energy compacts, economy-wide reforms, investment programs, technical assistance, and private-sector mobilization.

Since The Rockefeller Foundation and the Alliance first announced their initial US$10 million commitment, their collective support has grown to more than US$100 million for Mission 300 in 23 countries to date: Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. With approximately 47 per cent from The Rockefeller Foundation and the Mission 300 Accelerator – an initiative of the Foundation’s public charity, RF Catalytic Capital – and 53 per cent from the Alliance, the US$100 million commitment includes, but is not limited to:

Providing technical assistance to more than a dozen National Energy Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units (CDMUs) to help improve countries’ coordination, monitoring, reporting, and implementation capacities, while funding 18 “Mission 300 Fellowships” to assist with CDMU efforts to fast-track electrification efforts.

Elevating support for clean cooking solutions in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70 per centof households have no choice but to rely on harmful, polluting fuels such as charcoal and wood to cook their meals by launching the Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative, piloting a Clean Cooking Delivery Unit in Kenya that is serving as a model for scaling similar initiatives across the continent, and announcing the first four Clean Cooking Fellows will help strengthen the capacity of countries with National Energy Compact Delivery Units to develop investable projects.

Expanding the the Global Energy Alliance and CLASP’s Productive Use Financing Facility (PUFF), which provides grants, subsidies, and technical assistance to suppliers and distributors, to lower prices, reach more customers, and accelerate the uptake of clean, energy-efficient appliances that power small businesses, support farmers, and transform the lives of thousands of people across Africa.

Advancing African-led energy solutions with support for strengthening interdisciplinary energy systems research and analysis by Africans about Africa through African Energy Futures Initiative and with support for building the next generation of African regulators and energy industry professionals through the African School of Regulation, while helping expand electricity demand and strengthen local energy markets and by providing technical assistance and project preparation.

Investing in Zafiri, Mission 300’s permanent capital fund originated by the World Bank and African Development Bank, to provide patient equity in a range of distributed renewable energy programs and investment facilities, while addressing rural electrification challenges, incentivizing developers to stimulate energy demand within the rural communities that they serve, and increasing awareness and funding support for Africa’s off-grid solar sector.

Launching a new, more flexible, short-medium-term technical assistance facility that is designed to deploy philanthropic capital swiftly to help accelerate the pace and efficiency of African governments’ and the multilateral development banks’ electricity access projects.

Enabling an investment-friendly environment both prior to and since Mission 300’s inception, including from the private sector through the Acumen Hardest to Reach Fund and via the World Bank and African Development Bank trust funds, such as the World Bank’s Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) initiative in West and Central Africa and the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).

Aligning support and additional resources for Mission 300 from the Alliance’s Global Leadership Council, a coalition of nearly three dozen global finance, clean energy, and philanthropy leaders co-chaired by Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway, and Dr. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation.