Rama George: Hello and welcome to People First, the podcast from the World Bank that brings you stories and voices from Western and Central Africa. I’m your host, Rama George!
As 2-0-2-5 comes to a close, we’re celebrating the milestones, innovations, and people driving change in this incredible region. Let’s jump in with some of this year’s highlights!
First up, the ambitious Mission 300 initiative! Back in April 2-0-2-4, the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank, along with other partners, joined forces to bring electricity to 300 million homes and businesses across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2-0-3-0.
In our episode, “Mission 300 is not just a number,” Franz Drees-Gross, Regional Director for Infrastructure for the World Bank's Western and Central African countries, tells us why this initiative matters.
Franz Drees-Gross: 25 years ago, there were 500 million people in South Asia and Central Asia without electricity access. But now, every single region of the world, except for Sub-Saharan Africa, has gotten to 90% or even 95% or more electricity coverage. Of the 680 million people who are left on the planet who don't yet have electricity, 570 million live in Sub-Saharan Africa. It's become mostly an African problem. And given that, senior management at the Bank launched an initiative at our Spring Meetings, in 2-0-2-4 in April, called Mission 300. The goal was, of those 570 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa without electricity access, can we electrify 300 million, or about half, by 2-0-3-0?
Rama George: That's a significant challenge. How are you planning to achieve this?
Franz Drees-Gross: We realized we can't do it alone. We can commit to electrifying 250 million people. The African Development Bank immediately said, we'll come in for another 50 million. We're reaching out to other development partners. So, we're talking to all the major development partners, asking them to join us. We're also partnering with Sustainable Energy for All. We're also partnering with GEAPP, the Global Alliance for Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and with multiple other development partners and private sector players.
So, it's really those three partners coming together, governments, development partners, philanthropies, and the private sector. That's what Mission 300 is all about, it's bringing those people together.
Rama George: It’s a massive team effort, and progress is happening fast. Since Mission 300’s inception, the World Bank has already rolled out close to 90 energy access projects in almost 40 African countries—connecting people at a record pace, 1.5 times faster than before!
Now, what does this mean exactly when you are an energy company on the ground? In our episode “Impact evaluation for real project results” through the LEADS program, William Brent, Chief Marketing Office, at Husk Power tells us how his company is partnering with the World Bank Group to bring more electricity to rural Nigeria—making a powerful difference.
William Brent: So, Husk Power, my company, builds mini grids. Everybody who grew up in a city knows what a grid is. It's a bunch of wires. Bunch of poles. There's an energy source for that thing somewhere, which we never see. Mini grids are for communities that live off of that main grid, mostly in rural areas. My company, Husk, builds a mini grid in those communities. So, we're trying to bring them into the modern economy, by giving them access to energy as well as services on top of that energy.
Rama George: I asked him why it makes sense for him to participate in these kinds of workshops, hear his response.
William Brent: If we can do a deep study around how the services that we provide, including electricity, but also things on top of that, actually deliver great, greater socioeconomic impact to communities that we're electrifying versus grid extension, that helps us. It helps governments understand why it makes sense for them to allocate more of their finances to support us, provides the customer with better service. And it also, you know, unlocks hopefully a lot more private capital, like the capital is coming from IFC to scale the solution. So, there’s a lot of reasons why having more data that’s credible, that’s based on third party assessments, would go a long way to helping our industry scale, help government understand why taking the path of the mini grid, not just, grid extension, is important.
Rama George: Real lives changed, real communities connected. By today, Mission 300 has powered up 32 million homes, schools, and businesses — and there’s much more to come.
And the best part? Everyone can track this journey! Check out the Mission 300 Progress Portal. It allows anyone—governments, partners, civil society, or just curious citizens—to track:
How many people have been connected so far and how many we expect to connect each year.
Project-by-project results against forecasts.
How much financing—both World Bank Group and co-financing—is behind the effort.
We will provide a link in the transcript.
By 2-0-5-0, more than 624 million people will be of working age—one in three young people worldwide will live in Africa. While finding a job is one of the main challenges, there will also be a high demand for food.
Last October, the World Bank Group launched a new initiative called AgriConnect to transform agriculture to create more jobs, raise income levels for million smallholder farmers, and improve global food security.
Why? Because about 80% of all food is produced by farmers and around 85% of them are smallholder farmers, relying on traditional production methods. Helping these farmers to increase productivity, access financing, and connect them to agricultural value chains will help scale, create jobs, reduce poverty, and improve global food security.
In our episode featuring three prominent women working in agribusiness, we met with Fahima Mohamed—aka “farmgirl,” from Djibouti. She’s a passionate farmer, activist, and agri-influencer, who’s inspiring young Africans to invest in their land and their dreams.
Fahima Mohamed (dubbed from French) : “I want to raise awareness among all young people, and everyone today who wants to invest in Africa. Do not invest in buildings. Invest in soil, invest in land, invest in everything that is local, so that today we can consume what is produced, what we call our own local products, please.
Rama George: Hear more about what her biggest dream is….
Fahima Mohamed (dubbed from French): I have many dreams, but one of my dreams is a green Djibouti — a Djibouti where 100% of what we eat on our plates is Djiboutian. That is, from Djiboutian soil. A Djibouti where prices don’t skyrocket. A Djibouti where women have many rights, where a woman can decide what she wants: to be an engineer, to work the land, to be a mason, to work in construction…etc..”
Rama George: A dream of a green Djibouti, empowered women, and tables filled with local harvests—now that’s the future to root for!
2-0-2-5 also marks a major milestone for the African Centers of Excellence—ACEs—driving innovation, research, and skills for the next generation. In the episode “Celebrating A Decade of Innovation,” Sylvia Mkandawire from the Association of African Universities captured this journey perfectly.
Sylvia Mkandawire: The ACE programs are supporting the graduates through initiatives like opportunities to commercialize research, giving seed grants to the students so that they can actually design innovations that can be taken to the market. So, the incubation, the entrepreneurship opportunities that the program has presented to the students has also contributed to workforce development. Students are being placed in various countries—at regional level, national level—just to attain skills, that are aligning to the job market.
Rama George: Beyond the numbers, the goal of ACEs is to empower Africa’s youth with skills to address the continent’s challenges and strengthen connections between universities, businesses, and public services. As Sylvia points out…
Sylvia Mkandawire: During the 10 years, we are seeing universities that have transformed. We are seeing the teaching and learning facilities that are relevant and competitive, just as in any other country, US, UK, and when you get into a laboratory, where the ACE center has been established, you feel like you are in Harvard, in Africa here.
I think it has been amazing! When we see graduates getting their own companies, running their own institutions, it really makes me happy!
Rama George: World-class labs, graduates leading the way—it’s a decade of real impact, and the best is yet to come!
So, what does a “good job” mean to Africa’s youth? When we asked our young listeners what it meant to them, why it matters, and how to get one…many said it’s about being intentional, unique, building your brand, and networking—but Danielle from Cameroon summed it up best for us.
Tongue Kandeu Danielle: To me, a good job is one that brings pride, not just to you but to those who raised you. I remember that my mother ran a small store. Every shelf, every item carefully arranged, every coin accounted for. Her work was honest, relentless and full of heart. Watching her I learned that landing a good job is not luxury. It is about stability, dignity and a chance to build something of your own. Her work didn’t come with applause but it came with purpose.
A good job means waking up and knowing you’re building something that matters to yourself and to others. It is not about titles. It’s about having freedom to dream, to grow, to stand tall without compromising who you really are. It supports your future without erasing your past. My mom’s strength taught me that a good work isn’t just what you do, it’s what you become through it.
What an incredible year it’s been—voices, vision, and victories that bring hope to millions of people in Africa.
I'm Rama George, and you've been listening to People First, the podcast featuring not only the voices but also the programs and initiatives supported by the World Bank Group in Western and Central Africa. We hope you enjoyed listening to these highlights from our episodes this year and will continue to tune in in the new year.
On behalf of the entire production team, thank you for riding along this journey!
Rama George: Happy holidays and see you next year on People First!
