African development finance institutions are intensifying efforts to unlock African capital for one of the continent’s most ambitious infrastructure programmes, as leaders push to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030 under the Mission 300 initiative led by the African Development Bank and the World Bank Group, as reported by Reuters and Business Insider Africa. The programme aims to address Africa’s vast electricity access gap, which still leaves nearly 600 million people without power.
During the African Development Bank’s 2026 Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, finance leaders called for coordinated action to unlock an estimated $250 billion in assets held by African development finance institutions to support large-scale energy infrastructure, grid expansion, and renewable power projects. Officials said stronger mobilisation of domestic capital will be critical to reducing dependence on external financing while accelerating electrification across the continent.
Mission 300 has attracted growing backing from international and African financial institutions, including commitments from the European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, and private sector partners. The initiative is expected to require at least $90 billion in financing through a mix of public funding, development finance, philanthropy, and private investment.
