AfDB commits to enhance investment in Africa’s energy sector to improve access to electricity.
In line with its development priorities and, in particular, its agenda to light up and power Africa, the African Development Bank plans to reach 29.3 million people in Africa with electricity by 2020.
AfDB’s president, Akinwumi Adesina, made this disclosure at a high-level event on “New Way of Working: From Vision to Action-National, Regional and Global Dimensions” at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Sunday.
He pledged support for the plan which he termed “crucially important” and indicated that it requires a new way of tackling development issues.
“The African Development Bank is today at the forefront of investing in renewable energy in Africa. The share of renewable energy in the Bank’s energy portfolio increased from 14% when I became President in 2015 to 100% last year,” President Adesina said.
“Our support last year alone provided 3.8 million Africans with access to electricity. And, with adequate financing, we expect to reach 29.3 million people with access to electricity between 2018 and 2020.”
AfDB is among financiers of the Kenyan energy sector programmes, particularly in renewable electricity generation and distribution. Together with the World Bank, AfDB is financing the ongoing Last Mile Connectivity Project that is being implemented by Kenya Power targeting to attain universal access to electricity by 2020.
