The World Bank has estimated that around 600 million people in Africa do not currently have access to affordable, reliable electricity. Photo: LUIS TATO / AFP/FileAfrica
do not currently have access to affordable, reliable electricity -- a key factor hampering job creation and economic development on the African continent.Bank made a commitment to connect 100 million Africans to affordable energy by 2030," World Bank president Ajay Banga told an event at the Bank's headquarters in Washington.
To connect this many people to the energy grid by 2030, $30 billion of public sector investment will be needed, the World Bank said in a statement.The Bank committed to allocating $5 billion to the project last year, which leaves a gap of $25 billion in public funding to meet the ambitious target.
"600 million people in the continent do not have access to any power. Any. Zero," Banga said."To me, that's an unacceptable situation in the year 2024."Alongside the World Bank, the African Development Bank is looking to connect an additional 50 million people to the grid across Africa by the end of this decade, Banga said."That's the kind of commitment we need to make," he added."But that's going to take effort from across all parts of the Bank.