Many of us take turning on a light switch or connecting our devices to a home Wi-Fi network for granted. If our phones need charging, we plug them in, if we want hot water we boil a kettle. These are things we don’t think about, because we don’t have to. But around 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still live without access to electricity.   

In this episode of The Development Podcast, we look at Mission 300, an ambitious plan from the World Bank Group and partners, which will link 300 million people to electricity by 2030.

Speakers

• Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group  
• Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania  
• Victoria Kwakwa, Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, World Bank Group   
• Andrew Herscowitz, the CEO of Mission 300 Accelerator, established by Rockefeller Catalytic Capital  
• Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO, Axian Group  
• Klaartje Schnade, Co-founder, Mwani Zanzibar  
• Nora Anyidoho, Ghanian Poet 

Timestamps

[00:00] Introducing the topic: Powering Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

[03:33] Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit

[06:28] The link between electrification and jobs: Visions of an entrepreneur in Zanzibar

[10:50] Achieving the Mission 300 target

[14:21] Partnerships are key to achieving the targets set by the Mission 300 plan

[20:13] The private sector is a crucial part of the energy puzzle

[28:12] Poem from Ghanaian poet, Nora Anyidoho

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ABOUT THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

This is The Development Podcast from the World Bank Group. I'm Lindy Mtongana. Welcome. In this month's episode, Powering Africa, how the continent's economic growth can be supercharged through energy access. With hundreds of millions of African households and businesses still not connected to reliable power, we're asking why affordable and sustainable energy is so crucial for the dynamic young continent and how it can be achieved. We're taking a closer look at Mission 300, an ambitious plan from the World Bank Group and partners, which will link 300 million people to electricity by 2-0-3-0. We travel to the Tanzanian Spice Islands of Zanzibar and hear the daily struggles of one female entrepreneur when it comes to powering her business.

Klaartje Schnade: So, there have been instances where we actually work at night in order to be able to complete orders or more electricity-intense processes.

Lindelwa Mtongana: We'll hear from the World Bank Group about what will be needed to implement this initiative.

Victoria Kwakwa: Mission 300 is really about partnership. We can't do it alone. Government can't do it alone. The private sector can't do it alone.

Lindelwa Mtongana: And we'll hear from one leading voice in the private sector, AXIAN Group.

Hassanein Hiridjee: This is a real change. We're walking the talk, and we're making impact and positive change.

Lindelwa Mtongana: All that and more on The Development Podcast from the World Bank Group. Hello, everyone. As you've just heard, we have a lot to squeeze into this episode. But before we do that, I'd just like to thank our past host and introduce myself. I'm Lindy Mtongana, a journalist and news anchor by trade, now based at IFC. As you probably know, it is the part of the World Bank Group focused on working with the private sector. I'm excited to be at the helm of The Development Podcast and look forward to us getting to know each other better.

Let's get back to our discussion for today on power. Many of us take turning on a light switch or connecting our devices to a home Wi-Fi network for granted. If our phones need charging, we plug them in. If we want hot water, we boil the kettle. These are things we don't often think about, because we don't have to. But around 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still live without access to electricity, and that 600 million represents about 83% of the world's population with no electricity access. A lack of reliable electricity, blackouts, intermittent power, or no power at all are not just inconveniences, they are holding back Africa's economic progress. Doing homework by torchlight or having to skip it hampers education. Businesses cannot function reliably. Vaccines can't be stored. Food cannot be refrigerated. Schools and hospitals cannot provide essential services. Relying on diesel generators is not a long-term solution, and these have a big impact on the planet. The World Bank Group announced last year that it would partner with the African Development Bank and others to tackle these very problems. The partnership created an ambitious plan to bring electricity to 300 million people by 2-0-3-0.

And moving forward with that plan was the focus of the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit, a recent gathering of leaders, partners, and the private sector in Tanzania. Now there, heads of state committed to concrete energy reforms. 12 African countries launched detailed action plans to scale up energy access, and partners pledged more than $50 billion in support of energy transformation in Africa. Here's Tanzania's president, Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Samia Suluhu Hassan: The Dar es Salaam Declaration, which we have just adopted, moves us closer to the realization of a longer envisioned accord by the founders of our independent African states, who yearned for Africa's second liberation, and that's economic liberation. You'll agree with me that Africa cannot realize economic growth and development aspirations without ensuring access to energy for its people. So, congratulations once again for making history here in Dar es Salaam.

Lindelwa Mtongana: Also speaking in Dar es Salaam, the World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, had this to say.

Ajay Banga: Over the past year, we've worked alongside leaders of your countries to develop country-specific plans. These are rooted in data, they're endorsed at the highest levels by you, and they're aligned with very clear goals of reform. These plans focus on affordable power generation, on expanding connections, and on regional integration, and regional electrical markets. They aim to boost the efficiency of utilities, they aim to attract private investment, and the idea is deliver reliable, sustainable electricity.

Lindelwa Mtongana: That private investment will be crucial.

Ajay Banga: For the private sector, a lot of our friends and colleagues who are in this room, this effort represents both a challenge and an opportunity. We need your innovation. We need your efficiency. We need your people. We need your creativity. We need your capacity to scale. To facilitate your investment, we've identified those regulatory policy barriers. We are working to eliminate them.

Lindelwa Mtongana: Let's hear one more time from the World Bank Group President on how increasing energy provision intersects with another fundamental challenge in development, jobs.

Ajay Banga: Our mission to address the fundamental challenge of providing electricity to half of this continent's people, 300 million, who do not have access, this is just the critical first step. M-300 is the cornerstone of a jobs' agenda. It is not just about electricity. It is not just about clean cooking. It is not just about healthcare. It is about people, and their optimism, and their hope for dignity. This is the cornerstone of a jobs' agenda, it is the foundation for future development, and we would like to be your partners as we go forward.

Well, we wanted to find out more about the link between electrification and jobs. Our producer Sarah spoke to one entrepreneur in Zanzibar to hear about her experiences of running a business without reliable power.

Sarah Treanor: The intoxicating sounds of the Indian Ocean, where the Tanzanian Spice Islands of Zanzibar sit just off the coast of the mainland, a short ferry from the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam. It's here that women have for decades gathered seaweed by hand to sell on for processing elsewhere. It might look like a romantic picture, groups of women wading just offshore from the beach to gather the seaweed, but this is labor-intensive work, and not always well paid. That's where the company Mwani saw an opportunity to gather the seaweed and process it on site in Zanzibar to produce cosmetics which could be exported globally. The women would learn valuable skills and get paid a living wage.

Klaartje Schnade: You've got those beautiful turquoise, azure waters, and the tides coming in and out. And then, you've got these seaweed beds.

Sarah Treanor: Co-founder, Klaartje Schnade.

Klaartje Schnade: The farming always takes place according to the tidal calendar. We wait for the tide to ebb before we can go into the ocean. It is stunning. We really wanted to paint a very powerful picture of women doing fantastic things in their own right.

Sarah Treanor: The women chat and sing as they process the seaweed in Mwani's small facility near the sea. I asked Klaartje to tell me about the process of extracting the nutrients from the seaweed.

Klaartje Schnade: It undergoes agitation, filtration, triple filtration, undergoes evaporation on increased surface areas and lower temperatures. It's about a two-day process just to get about a gram, just under a gram, of seaweed extract.

Sarah Treanor: And Klaartje, what about the issue of energy? Tell me about your experiences with power.

Klaartje Schnade: Well, at the moment, we are on the grid. And we're actually looking to start with biogas as well as solar power. We don't use generators, simply because I really cannot stand the fact that we'd be polluting the air, and it feels so counterintuitive to what we do. So, there have been instances where we actually work at night, in order to be able to complete orders or more electricity-intense processes. It has actually been a pain point for our company. It's a real sticking point. But what's kept us going has been that we are passionate about the environment and passionate about the people that work with us. But yes, we do find that we have a lot of issues and challenges when it comes to long power-outs, inconsistent energy, our apparatus burning, despite stabilizers, not to mention potential fires from time to time, which happen across the island, which thankfully we have not had.

Sarah Treanor: So Klaartje, what about the women who work with you? What about the workforce? What kinds of issues do they experience, in terms of access to power?

Klaartje Schnade: They experience it more heavily than us. They'll have to deal with extreme heat at night when there's a power-out. I'm very lucky to be on the ocean. But you'll have a workforce that basically can come in tired, because they've spent the night at really high temperatures without any sort of alleviation, such as air-con, or fans, or anything. It also means that children can't do homework. It means that they have to come to us to ensure that they can charge their phones. So, it impacts the workforce quite a bit.

Sarah Treanor: I ask Klaartje to tell me what reliable access to energy would mean.

Klaartje Schnade: The benefits would be immense. It would just mean that everything works better. So, it would have immense improvement on the way things work in Zanzibar.

Lindelwa Mtongana: Thank you to Klaartje who was speaking to Sarah there, and talking us through the practical hurdles of scaling a business when you can't rely on your energy supply.

Let's head back to Dar es Salaam for a moment, where the World Bank's Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Victoria Kwakwa, was asked, "What will be needed to achieve the Mission 300 target?"

Victoria Kwakwa: I think a lot of things have to happen and there's no silver bullet. You can't do one and leave another out. But if I had to pinpoint one thing that is super critical, I think reform of the energy sector. And the nature of reform will vary from country to country, depending on where the country is at. But that is so fundamental to success that we cannot ignore it. That alone will catalyze the resources that need to come in. So, I would say, the reform of the sector and according to the gaps that are in the different countries.

Lindelwa Mtongana: We heard World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, signal the importance of the private sector earlier, and Victoria expanded on this.

Victoria Kwakwa: I think the collaboration between the public and private can bring several things. First, it can grow the volume of resources. So, it's not just public money, it's public money catalyzing private money to make sure that we have the volumes that we need. I think it's also important that private know-how and the private ability to manage and to innovate joins up with public sector to really deliver in some of the innovations particularly that will help serve the most underserved areas, the remote and less privileged areas, including through distributed renewable energy, so the private sector can come in and bring some of the innovations to complement what the public sector is doing. The public sector can do largely the grids, the off-grids facilitated by the private. And so, those are two examples, but the two need to work together.

Lindelwa Mtongana: Finally, the World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa was asked what the next steps are.

Victoria Kwakwa: Mission 300 is really about partnership. We can't do it alone. Government can't do it alone. The private sector can't do it alone. So, as we go forth from here, all of us as stakeholders need to do our parts. For us at the World Bank is really continuing to make sure that we're delivering the projects that will bring the financing to the table. And so, what we are already preparing to move expeditiously to prepare them, for us and the IFC, it's putting in place this equity fund that will really bring public and private resources together in a very innovative way. For governments, I come again to the reforms: going back to the Compact, drilling down, and really accelerating the reform path. For private sector players is engaging with us to see what they can bring in terms of private investments to complement what the public sector is doing and leaning forward, I would say, to do that. And our partners, they have projects that they might be running, putting them in place quickly, because 2-0-3-0 is just around the corner. So, finding the opportunities to work together.

The World Bank Group's Victoria Kwakwa there, ending on the importance of working together. And, as she alluded, partnerships are key to achieving the targets set by the Mission 300 plan. And there are many involved. One key partner is the Rockefeller Foundation. I had the pleasure of speaking to Andrew Herscowitz, the CEO of the Mission 300 Accelerator, a unit established by Rockefeller Catalytic Capital, which helps coordinate and support the many partners working together for the Mission 300 goals. Andrew has many years experience working with governments and think tanks in international finance and in energy access. I asked him to outline why the Mission 300 agenda is so critical for Africa.

Andrew Herscowitz: We're looking at trying to get 300 million more people access to electricity in just over five years. So, it's an unprecedented speed. It's unprecedented resources being put into making this happen also. So, we saw during the Tanzania summit that President Banga announced that $30 to $40 billion of concessional capital, public capital, is going to be put into this effort between the World Bank, African Development Bank. So, that's a tremendous amount of money. We've been hearing calls from the Global South, saying that the global financial architecture hasn't been working for them. And this is an opportunity to say, "Look how we're providing lower cost financing on terms that is sustainable, that are going to produce results." But the thing that philanthropy is doing, what Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and then also UN Sustainable Energy for All are doing is we're bringing additional resources. We're bringing philanthropic capital to bring the cost of borrowing down a little bit more to help blend that into the bank financing, but also to fill gaps.

Lindelwa Mtongana: And resources are an important part of the puzzle. You've seen firsthand the complexities, the obstacles, the challenges of achieving something so ambitious as Mission 300. So, what is Mission 300 essentially going to do differently than initiatives that have preceded it?

Andrew Herscowitz: So, we've seen these Energy Compacts. 12 countries entered into Energy Compacts at the Tanzania summit, and they're very, very specific about what countries need to do to achieve their goals, both from an energy sector standpoint, but specifically to Mission 300. So, Mission 300 is one piece of those Compacts. They lay out the specific reforms that need to happen in countries. Those are reforms that are necessary to attract private investment into the country. It might be, for example, saying that they're going to waive VAT taxes on the importation of equipment that's going to help increase energy access. Some of them will say that they're going to have competitive and transparent tendering as well. So, the governments are making these very, very specific commitments, and then the governments also are setting their own goals of how many people they're going to get access to electricity, how many people are going to get access to clean cooking. So, we've got that political commitment from countries. And then, the next piece that we need is we need the financing. So, the government's got to do its part to create the right enabling environment and do the reforms. But then we can help bring the financing across all the organizations and we can help bring the technical assistance. The other thing that M-300 is different about also is, to a large degree, it's a transactional approach. We're able to get down to a very granular level and say, "There's this particular project that's supposed to deliver 1.5 million electrical connections, but it's facing these obstacles. What do we need to do to overcome these obstacles?"

Lindelwa Mtongana: And does any particular project come to mind where you see this unique model, this collaboration working at its best?

Andrew Herscowitz: We've been working with GEAPP and along with all the other partners to provide technical assistance to, right now it's about 23 different projects all across the continent, from helping the government of Madagascar accelerate solar home systems, it includes working with the government of Cote d'Ivoire to get a better accounting of all the schools and health clinics that need electrification, so that we can then come up with a plan to electrify those. We think that about half of the connections that Mission 300 will drive will come from on-grid, which the World Bank and African Development Bank have a long history of being very successful of building the grids out in countries. But then we think the other half is going to come from off-grid, a combination of solar home systems, mini grids, things like that.

Lindelwa Mtongana: Now, I read somewhere that one of the first phrases you learned in Spanish was, "The power is out." It makes me wonder to what extent your motivation for being involved in this collaboration, that it may come from a personal perspective. Tell us about that.

Andrew Herscowitz: Yeah. No, it's absolutely personal. I was an exchange student in the Dominican Republic when I was in high school, and there was constant power outages. That's when I realized that you can't take it for granted. Electricity is the key to driving development anywhere in the world. If you don't have it, not only are you getting left behind, but everybody's advancing far beyond you, while you're just staying exactly where you are. If you don't have electricity, you don't have proper healthcare. I mean, you can't keep vaccines cool. Even the life-saving equipment... Monitoring equipment for people. I mean, people die every day all over the world unnecessarily because there isn't proper electricity in healthcare. Same thing in agriculture. In agriculture, you can be far more efficient if you've got milling equipment that's electrified, if you've got pumps that are electrified. That increases incomes and ultimately lifts people out of poverty as well. Education, the same thing. So, I think there's no question in anybody's mind that absent electricity, none of the other development sectors happen. And so, it's absolutely critical for everything that we do.

Thank you very much, Andrew. Many thanks to Andrew Herscowitz. Really interesting perspectives there. Now, the private sector is also a crucial part of the energy puzzle, and I had the pleasure of speaking to Hassanein Hiridjee, the CEO of AXIAN Group, about his views on the challenges and opportunities ahead. AXIAN is a leading Pan-African group, which has made significant strides in renewable energy. It operates the largest solar farm in the Indian Ocean, and implemented mini-grid technology through the WeLight initiative, which provides clean energy to underserved villages in Africa. Just the man, then, to talk us through some of the big issues at stake.

Hassanein Hiridjee: For me, there is a huge link, Lindy, between digital connectivity and energy access. I mean, I always say that in Africa, we have three things to solve. First one is digital connectivity. We're talking now about AI. We're talking now about digitalizing everything, not only our mobile transaction, not only about our education, et cetera. So, everything will go digital. Second thing, in Africa, and we're talking about that, we need to solve the problem of energy. And energy and digital are the base of the triangle of prosperity. So, they're interlinked. One is nourishing the other one. So, I strongly believe, and President Ajay Banga, when he did his intro speech, he was very much enthusiastic by saying that, "Not only we will bring a lot of financing, a lot of things for the energy access, but in parallel, we have also to bring connectivity alongside with energy access." So, those are interlinked. You walk with two feet: one feet is the digital access, the other one is digital connectivity and energy access.

Lindelwa Mtongana: At the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, you concluded with this declaration, which contains some important commitments on sector reform. Why do you think this is so important?

Hassanein Hiridjee: When you look over the last 40 years, 50 years, government were very much reluctant to liberalize to do a full transformation of the energy sector, okay? They're keeping their monopoly, in terms of transmission, in terms of grids, in terms of distribution. They're reluctant, not to say they're blocking the unbundling of those assets, okay? And those assets, we need to bring innovation, we need to bring competition, we need to bring investment at that level. So, what was very interesting in Dar es Salaam, and I'm saying it's the first time it happened, is that now not only they're willing, but now they're pushing, because they're accountable in front of their population. They're accountable in front of the voters. They're accountable in front of the people that are paying tax, that, "We have now to give proper quality of service. We need to give proper energy access. We have to accelerate." Our population in Africa is growing at the pace... We're going to be the most populated continent within the next 20, 30 years. So, we cannot continue by just trying to close the gap and by always saying, "Okay, we need to bridge another 300 million, another 500 million." Etcetera. So now, government are fully aware of the necessity, are fully aware of what needs to be done. And, they took strong commitment, in terms of strategic reform on the regulation side, in terms of framework, et cetera. They have to change totally now the setup. And I think that this is a huge change in the mindset. That's amazing. And, Dar es Salaam not only is a success, not only we made the case, but now we have a clear road map, we have clear commitment. Each president present there read its commitment, and that was very important, I think. And this is, I would say, a new constitution for energy access in Africa. Each and every country has signed a new constitution for the energy access.

Lindelwa Mtongana: And do you think governments went far enough to open the door to private sector players to make it more possible for the private sector to participate in energizing Africa?

Hassanein Hiridjee: I think so, Lindy, that they took commitment and they're very much willing. Now, each government will not go at the same pace. Each government will not have the same operating model, okay? But what was very important is that not only you had the government, not only you had the private sector, but you had also the DFIs. And maybe, certain governments will be reluctant to go too fast with private sector. But at least the people that will put the money in the table, okay, they will ask for the private sector to be there. So, I think it's a matter of now we are all present in the same room and we have a triangle. We have three parties. So, everybody's willing to work with the other. So, I think that government are willing to work with DFIs because they have the money. DFIs are willing to work with the government, as well with the private sector, because now it's time of executing. Let's walk our talk. We are accountable, let's execute. Mr. Ajay Banga, President Adesina, they were very clear. We have now only five years. We have to deploy now. We are to get success. We have to have some real, real commitments, and also see results.

Lindelwa Mtongana: And as you said, it's about the results now. People are waiting. People on the ground are wanting to see their lives transformed by access to energy. Maybe take us back to the ways in which you've seen power change the lives of individuals, of communities that you've worked in.

Hassanein Hiridjee: I mean, we are seeing... You're going in villages... I'm calling these villages, but I mean, we have barely roads. We don't have tarred roads. We are talking about small houses within 10 feet of their own paddy fields, okay? And you have barely a small town hall or whatever, okay? But when we're bringing electricity there, before starting to dig the holes to put our small wood poles, before starting to dig the holes, they're seeing the wood pole arriving, we've got queues. I promise you, Lindy, that's amazing. You see queues of people waiting and lining up. So, the first time, when I had the report, I said, "Why are they queuing?" They're queuing because they want to make sure that their name will be in the list that will have access to the meters. And they're ready to pay the meter in advance. We have not started the network, we have not started the mini-grid. They're willing to pay the meter in advance. That's incredible. And I'm talking about Madagascar, I mean, you know our economic situation. Even though, you see in those remote places, not only they pay their meters, but when we start, I mean, I would say at least 30 to 40% of the grid is already, within the first month, it's busy. In one month. So, the demand is huge. And you're seeing in the house where before they were burning coal, they were bringing small oil lamp, et cetera, now they've got proper bulbs. Okay, you see that you're bringing real light, real life in those house. You can see that you're bringing social benefit. Yes, we're not building roads, but roads will come when you are improving the social condition of those people, that the children are getting a little better education, that they will be able to get access to social welfare, that they will be able to access to some productive use, this will change the mindset, this will change the condition of those people. This is a real change. We're walking the talk, and we're making impact and positive change.

Hassanein, many thanks. And thank you to all of our guests on this episode. Some really important insights. Before we go, we'd like to play you a very special poem from Ghanaian poet, Nora Anyidoho. She passionately supports the mission to bring electricity to the millions of people without power in Sub-Saharan Africa, and wrote this piece for the World Bank.

Nora Anyidoho: Over half a billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa live without electricity. That is one in two. Meaning, between me and you, one of us has to be without power. So, I speak for the sons and the daughters studying by candlelight. I speak for the mothers, the fathers, the entrepreneurs whose dreams flicker in dreariness. I speak for the nations seemingly draped in half-darkness. I speak to flip the switch. Envision a future where every home and hospital, farm and factory has constant, reliable access to electricity, because electricity transcends illumination. Electricity is the fuel that drives innovation. It is the power to empower. It is the hope. It is the life force of Africa's economic revolution. So, sound the gong-gong and herald the dawn. Beckon the beacon bearers, for the night is gone. Call for the changemakers, the innovators, and the dreamers. Stand with me, as we shed light and create awareness. Let us ignite the continent. Let us power up Africa.

Lindelwa Mtongana: We hope you've enjoyed this episode of The Development Podcast from the World Bank Group. We'll be following this story closely. So, stay tuned, like, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Lindy Mtongana, and we'll be back very soon with a special edition for International Women's Day in early March. Goodbye.