Energy access is industrial policy: powering firms, jobs and productive markets

Access is the foundation; productive use is the multiplier

Nearly 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still live without electricity. Mission 300, led by the World Bank Group and African Development Bank Group, aims to connect 300 million people by 2030. The scale of that ambition reflects the central role of energy in health, education and quality of life.

It also reflects an economic reality. Reliable electricity enables irrigation, cold storage, manufacturing, digital services, logistics and businesses of every size. The development return grows when access is planned together with the productive activity it can unlock.

Industrialisation requires systems, not isolated assets

Generation alone is not enough. Competitive industry depends on dependable transmission and distribution, financially resilient utilities, efficient transport, skilled operators and access to working capital. These systems require coordination between public institutions, private investors, development partners and technology providers.

The African Development Bank’s Africa Energy Market Place uses a tripartite model that brings governments, the private sector and development partners together. That same logic—alignment around specific delivery constraints—is critical to energy-led industrialisation.

Invest for the economy the asset will serve

The most durable energy investments are designed around demand, local value creation and the markets they enable. IAETIF therefore treats energy, trade, technology and industrial growth as connected agendas rather than separate conversations.