The leaders of more than half of Africa\u2019s nations gathered this week in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania\u2019s sprawling seaside metropolis, to commit to the biggest burst of spending on electric-power generation in Africa\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Bank, African Development Bank and others are pledging at least $35 billion to expand electricity across a continent where more than a half-billion people still don\u2019t have it. About half of the money will go toward solar \u201cminigrids\u201d that serve individual communities. The loans will come at below-market interest rates, a crucial stipulation as global lenders usually charge much higher rates in Africa, citing higher risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview, Ajay Banga, the president of the World Bank, cast the initiative in sweeping terms where economic development met societal stability and basic human rights. \u201cWithout electricity, we can\u2019t get jobs, health care, skills,\u201d he said. The success of electrification, he said, is \u201cfoundational to everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The summit\u2019s promise is to get half of Africa\u2019s 600 million unelectrified people powered up in just six years. That averages out to five million people a month. Mr. Banga said the World Bank, on its own, had not yet even passed the one-million-a-month mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> Expecting to electrify 300 million Africans by 2030, Mission 300 is meeting in Tanzania\u2019s capital, Dar es Salaam.
They hope to illuminate NASA\u2019s very dim nighttime image of Africa.
Today's econlife blog: https:\/\/t.co\/M63ERMSlJ3<\/a>#econlife<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/CqnJyBJZvZ<\/a><\/p>— econlife.com (@Econlife) January 28, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>