Power Africa – established more than a decade ago – aimed to help bring stable electricity to 600 million people across Africa, writes Nick Ferris, before being cut by the current president. But all hope is not lost.

According to the energy progress report, electricity access grew faster than the global population in 2023 alone, lifting the access rate to 92 percent and reducing the number of people without power to 666 million, 19 million fewer than the previous year.

The coming together of small solar technology, LED lighting and socially minded businesses has grown the market significantly over the past decade. In Kenya, off-grid solar now accounts for an estimated 75% of rural electricity access. The country has a target to reach universal access by 2030 and solar plays a big part in the government’s plans.

The private sector could be the key to unlocking Africa’s energy wealth through financing, deploying and managing energy solutions. However the private sector’s role is not optimized due to limited local technical expertise, fragmented and unstable policy and regulatory frameworks and finance challenges and market entrance barriers.