INDUSTRY TRENDS

Africa bets on solar mini grids to fix electricity access gap

Funded by the Global Environment Facility, the Africa Minigrids Programme will work with the United Nations Development Programme, African Development Bank, and national governments to install mini-grids powered by solar batteries in remote parts of the continent.

The programme has also launched a bid to attract US $65 billion in private capital that will speed up its extension beyond the first phase. Angola, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia are among the countries set to benefit from that first phase; 21 low-income countries have been identified as beneficiaries. If its plan is successful, the programme will connect 265 million people to electricity by 2030.