Nigeria, others get N16.5bn grant for electricity generation

The Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) have announced a commitment of $10m (N16.57bn) grant for electricity generation in Nigeria and 10 African countries.

The grant is under the “Mission 300” (M300), an ambitious World Bank Group and African Development Bank (AfDB) initiative launched in April 2024 to provide improved electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030.

In a statement, it stated that provisional approval of $10 million for approximately 15 projects in 11 countries would benefit Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia and across the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which is the largest regional economic organisation in Africa.

It noted that the collaboration includes launching a new technical assistance (TA) facility, standing up an M300 Leadership Group with the AfDB and World Bank, and activating private-sector financing for electrification programs in Africa.

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President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, said the partnership to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity is a game changer for Africa, noting that no economy can grow, industrialize or be competitive without electricity.

President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, said access to electricity is a fundamental human right that is foundational to development.

Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, said: “Whether our collective future is defined by crisis or opportunity depends on big bets like Mission 300—the most important global undertaking in decades. Empowering 300 million Africans by 2030 will require us to more than double the current speed of electrification.”