• Mission 300 commitment has grown from US$10 million to US$100 million over past 19 months
• Strengthening delivery capacity, mobilising private investment, accelerating project pipelines, and advancing Mission 300 efforts in nearly two dozen countries

At the Powering Africa Summit in Washington, D.C., The Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, announced that they have committed more than US$100 million to date to support Mission 300, the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank’s ambitious effort to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030.

Since The Rockefeller Foundation and the Alliance announced their first US$10 million for Mission 300 in September 2024, they have helped strengthen government delivery capacity through technical assistance, mobilized private investment, accelerated project pipelines, and advanced electrification efforts in nearly two dozen countries.

Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, announced that their joint commitment has increased more than tenfold to US$100 million during a fireside chat with Chris Wright, secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, where they also discussed the importance of bringing clean cooking support to communities in sub-Saharan Africa – a key priority of Mission 300.

Dr. Kevin Kariuki, vice president for Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, said:

“Mission 300 is fundamentally about delivery, and turning ambition into results at scale. Catalytic capital from partners such as The Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Energy Alliance plays a critical role in strengthening government delivery capacity, de-risking investments, and accelerating projects that can mobilize much larger flows of public and private finance.”

“The Rockefeller Foundation has made its biggest-ever bet on connecting people to electricity as the single best pathway out of large-scale poverty,” said Dr. Shah. “Our investment in Mission 300 reflects our commitment to the best way of advancing human well-being in the 21st century: putting countries in the lead, harnessing frontier technology, and focusing relentlessly on achievable, measurable goals. We look forward to working with partners to continue the extraordinary momentum behind Mission 300 and connect even more people in Africa, including its growing youth populations, to jobs, dignity, and prosperity.” 

Currently, 730 million people still lack access to basic electricity, and an estimated 85% of those live in sub-Saharan Africa.

This shortage hinders healthcare, education, digital inclusion, women and children empowerment, the creation of local jobs, building economic opportunity, and more.

According to the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, lack of access to electricity is the single greatest predictor of extreme poverty.

“Reliable, affordable, abundant electricity is essential for jobs, prosperity, and resilience,” said Woochong Um, CEO of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. “Our Alliance is proud to support Mission 300, bringing together the governments, development banks, philanthropies, non-profits, and private sector partners that can help unlock investment and accelerate delivery. From Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units that help governments implement national energy plans, to distributed renewable energy and productive-use programs, our focus is on ensuring that new electricity connections translate into durable economic opportunity for people and communities across Africa.”

A partnership between The World Bank and the African Development Bank, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance, and Sustainable Energy for All, Mission 300 translates commitments into implementation through national energy compacts, economy-wide reforms, investment programs, technical assistance, and private-sector mobilization.

Since The Rockefeller Foundation and the Alliance first announced their initial US$10 million commitment, their collective support has grown to more than US$100 million for Mission 300 in 23 countries to date: Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. With approximately 47% from The Rockefeller Foundation and the Mission 300 Accelerator – an initiative of the Foundation’s public charity, RF Catalytic Capital – and 53% from the Alliance, the US$100 million commitment includes, but is not limited to:

• Providing technical assistance to more than a dozen National Energy Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units (CDMUs) to help improve countries’ coordination, monitoring, reporting, and implementation capacities, while funding 18 “Mission 300 Fellowships” to assist with CDMU efforts to fast-track electrification efforts.

• Elevating support for clean cooking solutions in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70% of householdshave no choice but to rely on harmful, polluting fuels such as charcoal and wood to cook their meals by launching the Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative, piloting a Clean Cooking Delivery Unit in Kenya that is serving as a model for scaling similar initiatives across the continent, and announcing the first four Clean Cooking Fellows will help strengthen the capacity of countries with National Energy Compact Delivery Units to develop investable projects.

• Expanding the the Global Energy Alliance and CLASP’s Productive Use Financing Facility (PUFF), which provides grants, subsidies, and technical assistance to suppliers and distributors, to lower prices, reach more customers, and accelerate the uptake of clean, energy-efficient appliances that power small businesses, support farmers, and transform the lives of thousands of people across Africa.

• Advancing African-led energy solutions with support for strengthening interdisciplinary energy systems research and analysis by Africans about Africa through African Energy Futures Initiative and with support for building the next generation of African regulators and energy industry professionals through the African School of Regulation, while helping expand electricity demand and strengthen local energy markets and by providing technical assistance and project preparation.

• Investing in Zafiri, Mission 300’s permanent capital fund originated by the World Bank and African Development Bank, to provide patient equity in a range of distributed renewable energy programs and investment facilities, while addressing rural electrification challenges, incentivizing developers to stimulate energy demand within the rural communities that they serve, and increasing awareness and funding support for Africa’s off-grid solar sector.

• Launching a new, more flexible, short-medium-term technical assistance facility that is designed to deploy philanthropic capital swiftly to help accelerate the pace and efficiency of African governments’ and the multilateral development banks’ electricity access projects.

• Enabling an investment-friendly environment both prior to and since Mission 300’s inception, including from the private sector through the Acumen Hardest to Reach Fund and via the World Bank and African Development Bank trust funds, such as the World Bank’s Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) initiative in West and Central Africa and the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).

• Aligning support and additional resources for Mission 300 from the Alliance’s Global Leadership Council, a coalition of nearly three dozen global finance, clean energy, and philanthropy leaders co-chaired by Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway, and Dr. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation.

Since the World Bank and African Development Bank launched Mission 300 in April 2024, around 44 million people across Africa have been connected to electricity, with a pipeline of tens of millions more by the end of 2026.

In order to define targets, reforms, and investment priorities and accelerate access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy by 2030, Mission 300 has supported the launch of National Energy Compacts in 30 countries to date.

• Alliance of 50+ organizations awarded the Catalytic Philanthropic-Public-Private Partnership Award at the World Economic Forum’s inaugural Giving to Amplify Earth Action Awards honoring groundbreaking partnerships tackling global climate and nature challenges
• GEAPP was recognized for the alliance’s pioneering efforts uniting partners across sectors to develop and scale renewable energy solutions in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) has received an inaugural Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) Award for Philanthropic-Public-Private Partnership at the World Economic Forum, following its partnership of 50+ organizations.

This award recognizes the impact of scalable, innovative collaborations that are leveraging the contributions of philanthropy, government and private sector stakeholders to tackle climate change.

GEAPP was recognized for its efforts in uniting partners across sectors to develop and scale renewable energy solutions in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, including building an Alliance of 50+ partners, mobilizing $1.07 billion to fund 130 projects in 40 countries, averting an estimated 147,000 tons of carbon emissions and supporting the livelihoods of over 2 million people within its first two years.

Woochong Um, CEO of GEAPP said,

“The climate crisis is a global problem that requires global solutions, and GEAPP’s recognition at the inaugural GAEA Awards is a testament to the power of radical collaboration as a key driver of change. Our Alliance is excited to be part of a community of such inspiring peers. We urgently need to build this movement and the resources going towards the opportunity of renewable energy. We look forward to establishing new connections to drive change and accelerate our mission of expanding renewable energy access to one billion people around the world, averting 4 gigatons of carbon emissions and enabling 150 million sustainable livelihoods through job creation and the productive use of energy.”

GEAPP’s Alliance model pioneers transformational clean energy projects across emerging markets to support global ambitions to achieve a sustainable future for all.

Through the deployment of blended finance and flexible capital solutions to address market barriers, GEAPP maximizes the power of catalytic capital, bringing together multilateral development banks, governments, private sector, non-governmental organizations, communities and philanthropies, unlocking commercial and public financing.

In 2023, GEAPP launched the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Consortium, a multi-stakeholder partnership of countries and resource partners to expand battery storage capacity in lower- and middle-income countries.

Battery storage systems are a central component to increasing the reliability of grids and accommodating the variable renewable energy sources that are needed to power economic development. To date, more than 15 countries and 20 resource partners have committed to the Consortium, which is fast tracking flagship projects in every region and aggregating additional pipelines.

The BESS Consortium is just one example of the radical collaboration and bold action that enables the Alliance to foster a people-positive energy revolution that places prosperity for people and the planet at the heart of climate action.

In 2024, GEAPP and the Government of Malawi launched the construction of a 20 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Malawi.

This project is a beacon of hope and resilience for Malawi which aspires to achieve universal electricity access with a grid contributing at least 50% of the country’s electricity by 2030.

GEAPP has committed up to $20 million in grant funding to enable the design, installation, and operation of the Alliance’s first BESS project in Africa.

The project will significantly reduce power outages and enhance the reliability and stability of clean energy for houses, industries, and critical public infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and water supply systems connected to Malawi’s national grid.

Other work centers around distributed renewable energy (DRE) initiatives, including GEAPP’s technical assistance program within Mission 300 – an ambitious project launched jointly by the World Bank and the Africa Development Bank to bring energy to 300 million people in Africa by the end of the decade.

Through this work and a focus on jobs and livelihoods, GEAPP is delivering on its mission of reducing energy poverty and creating sustainable opportunities for all.

GEAPP has won the Catalytic Philanthropic-Public-Private Partnership Award at the World Economic Forum on the eve of the World Bank and African development bank-led Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit.

GEAPP is a key supporting partner of the major global gathering to convene heads of state from across Africa, private sector investors, multilateral development banks, philanthropies, and partners committed to mobilize an unprecedented level of support to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030.

The Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) Awards recognize groundbreaking partnerships, like GEAPP, that are tackling global climate and nature challenges with innovative, scalable solutions.

From over 120 initial nominations, the winners were selected by an expert independent jury comprised of leading experts from across the climate and nature ecosystem.

In addition to GEAPP, four other awardees were honored for pioneering, adaptable, impact-driven efforts in science, innovation, business action, and intergenerational leadership.

As an awardee, GEAPP will join the GAEA Awards community, gaining access to a global network that will help raise the Alliance’s profile and mobilize new partnerships.

GEAPP will also receive tailored support from the Forum alongside a cross-sector community of experts to scale impact and drive systems-wide change.

“The GAEA Awards recognize institutions and partnerships that are catalyzing transformative change for climate and nature,” said Gim Huay Neo, managing director, World Economic Forum. “By showcasing successful innovations and collaborations across industry partners, and between government, business and civil society, we hope to inspire more to step forward and work together to shape a sustainable future for all.”