Tanzania: Africa Energy Summit plans to expand energy access to 300M Africans by 2030

Preparations are well underway for the African Heads of State Energy Summit that will take place in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam on 27-28 January. The event aims to advance an ambitious plan to deliver electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.

The so-called Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit is a landmark event that will bring together over 1,500 delegates, including 13 African heads of state, representatives from the African Union, the African Development Bank Group (ADB), and the World Bank Group (WB).

According to Noel Kaganda from Tanzania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the summit is a platform for governments, private sector leaders, development partners, and civil society to advance the continent’s electrification agenda, notably the goal of providing electricity access to 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.

In a bold step to address Africa’s persistent energy crisis, the summit will conclude with the signing of the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration, committing African governments to advance universal energy access, promote renewable energy adoption, and attract private investment. Fifteen pilot countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia, have been invited to endorse the Africa Energy Compact, an initiative to achieve universal energy access by 2030. These African states, which together account for more than half of the global population without electricity, will pledge reforms in five key areas — low-cost power generation, regional energy integration, increased energy access, enabling private investment, and utility strengthening.