How to Increase Electricity Access Worldwide

⚡ Energy is a fundamental enabler of development — and nowhere is this more evident than in the health sector. It delivers one of the highest returns in climate adaptation, yet remains critically underfunded. 🔌 1 in 4 health facilities globally lacks electricity, and at least 25,000 in sub-Saharan Africa operate with no electricity access. Bridging this gap requires four strategic shifts: ✅ Integrating Sustainable Energy into Health Policies and Planning Nearly 1 billion people rely on health facilities without reliable electricity. Energy must be integrated into health strategies and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) planning. ✅ Financing Sustainable Energy for Health Resilience An estimated $4.9 billion is needed to electrify facilities in 63 low- and middle-income countries. Funding should prioritize decentralized renewable energy as core health infrastructure. ✅ Promoting Data-driven Decisionmaking In 46 low- and middle-income countries, 60% of health facilities face unreliable power. Energy audits, monitoring, geospatial data, and AI-powered storage can improve reliability. ✅ Prioritizing Sustainable Energy in Fragile and Crisis-affected Settings With 2 billion people in conflict-affected areas, solar mini-grids and Pay-As-You-Go models ensure care continues when the grid fails. Investing in sustainable energy is not just about powering facilities — it’s about powering health systems that save lives. #EnergyforHealth #UNDP #WorldHealthDay

Since 2000, the number of humans worldwide without access to electricity has dropped by half -- nearly 1 billion more people have electricity today. Several factors contributed to this improvement, but a key driver is technology. Rapid technology development has transformed energy systems over the last two decades. And today, AI is poised to accelerate this trend in unprecedented ways. Recent insights from Reuters highlight several uses of AI to advance and improve our power systems. Let's take mini-grids as an example. Mini-grids (similar to micro-grids) harness local storage and generation, creating decentralized networks that empower communities, particularly rural ones. Imagine a small community in the mountains installing solar panels and batteries, forming a local energy generation and storage facility to power their needs. This shift from centralized authorities to local innovators accelerates electrification, sidestepping the prolonged process of waiting for regulatory approvals and building new power plants. A key challenge micro-grids face is managing supply & demand for users. But now, predictive AI is enabling innovators like Husk Power Systems to forecast supply and demand, delivering electricity at the cheapest point at any given time. Similarly, installing and managing generation assets can be a challenge especially in rural environments. Here, AI-based models can optimize site selection & improve predictive maintenance for wind turbines and solar panels. By making mini-grids more efficient, AI is accelerating rural electrification -- just one example of how such technologies can enable cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable power for millions around the world. 🌍 #AI #aiforgood #energysystems #sustainability #minigrids #microgrids #cleanenergy #energytransition #cleantech #climatetech

💡 600 million people in Africa still live without electricity. Progress is stalling, falling far short of universal access goals. How can we bridge this gap? The International Energy Agency (IEA)'s new report, "Financing Electricity Access in Africa," dives deep into the investment landscape and charts a pathway forward Key findings: ( ) less than $2.5 billion was committed for new connections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2023. Reaching universal access by 2035 requires a six-fold increase to $15 billion annually ( ) finance is scarce and heavily reliant on public sources ( ) public finance, mainly from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) via debt, accounts for over 70% of commitments ( ) private finance contributes less than 30% ( ) equity, crucial for scaling up, remains limited and concentrated, especially hindering mini-grid and solar home system (SHS) developers ( ) financing often misses rural areas, where 80% of those without access live ( ) beyond connections, at least $2 billion more per year is needed just to make basic electricity services affordable for the 220 million who likely couldn't pay today Achieving universal access by 2035 requires a strategic shift: ( ) mobilising $15 billion annually, with private finance needing to grow to ~45% of the total ( ) improving regulations, integrating electrification with productive uses (like farming & small businesses), and standardizing projects are key ( ) using limited concessional finance catalytically – focusing on the hardest-to-reach, de-risking projects, building capacity, and taking higher-risk positions (especially patient equity) ( ) scaling up new models like securitisation for SHS, energy-as-a-service, green bonds for mini-grids, and crowdfunding

Nobody talks about this in African energy. It’s frustrating. The same cycle repeats. ➖ Big pledges. ➖ Huge funds. ➖ Grand plans. Yet, millions in Africa still live in darkness. I’ve been in countless boardrooms where billions are promised for electrification. Some of that money helps. But on the ground, the real problem remains: 🔹 600 million Africans lack reliable electricity, over 80% of the global energy gap. 🔹 $50 billion needed yearly for power projects. 🔹 Mission 300: Aiming to connect 300 million people by 2030. 🔹 Africa has 55.5% of global renewable energy potential but only 2% of investments flow in. So, what’s really broken? Is it a lack of money? Or tangled regulations, red tape, and poor coordination? Look at Guinea’s Souapiti Hydropower project—$1.3 billion spent, energy production soared, yet transmission lagged. ➖ Many cities still rely on seasonal power. ➖ In Conakry, Turkish floating power ships must stabilise supply ➖ Despite millions already spent. This isn’t just about building power plants, it’s about getting electricity consistently to homes and businesses. Some African nations traded mining resources for infrastructure with China. Some worked, others got stuck in regulatory bottlenecks. How do we fix this? ✅ Align power projects with national and sub-regional needs, not just investor gains. ✅ Develop transmission networks to avoid stranded energy. ✅ Create win-win policies that build local economies and protect investors. ✅ Attract real investment by fixing regulations and reducing risks. You can pour billions into Africa’s energy sector, but without simpler rules, progress will stall. For me, it’s personal: ➖ It’s not just about megawatts. ➖ It’s about families who could thrive if the power switch was on. ➖ It’s about jobs, education, and saving lives. Yes, Africa needs consistent, reliable funding. But more than that, we need leaders who simplify frameworks, cut red tape, and ensure every dollar pledged turns into real power for real people. 📍 That’s why I created the Africa Market Entry Readiness Check, a simple 5-minute test to see if your Business is ready to Enter or Expand in Africa. I work with energy businesses, investors, and companies looking to enter the African market. 📌 If you're serious about turning big plans into real, working projects, let’s connect. ❌ What’s the real blocker? Is it money or broken systems? 📌 DM me or follow if you're serious about making real impact in Africa’s energy sector. ♻️ Share this to reach others thinking about Africa’s energy future.

In Africa, 600 million people lack access to electricity. For those who do have access, usage can be as low as 1/100th of that in the U.S., leading to limited economic impact. Meanwhile, service providers face challenges in finding financially sustainable ways to deliver continuous, reliable service. In fact, utility debt in Africa accounts for about 1.5% of GDP. In #DIME's #energIE program, we focus on three critical questions: What are the barriers to electricity access? How can we ensure that access generates economic gains? And how can both public and private providers better capture and monetize these gains? Here are some key findings: 1. The benefits of electrification are most significant in densely populated and rapidly growing areas. — John Loeser Florence Kondylis 2. The successful adoption of new technologies heavily relies on effective quality signaling. — Aidan Coville 3. Enhancing #carboncredits by optimizing the adoption of new technologies and investing in measurement to substantiate claims represents a promising strategy to help countries align willingness to pay with the costs of new technologies. 4. Additionally, collaborating with #utilities to recover the $130 billion per year in unpaid water and electricity bills can secure the necessary resources to maintain and expand services. Our research indicates that consistent and credible enforcement can quadruple repayment without reducing access (Aidan Coville et al., 2023)), and transitioning from post-paid to pre-paid meters can lead to a 14% increase in repayment rates (Jack & Smith, 2020). How do we scale up evidence to improve energy action? We are partners of the “Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access” (#ASCENT) program to connect 100m people in East Africa We established a programmatic research framework to systematically test adoption constraints, energy productive use, and crowding in private sector participation. #RCT #IE We are expanding our partnership to West Africa through the multi-country Rural Off-Grid Electrification Program (#ROGEP) #Mission300 #M300 Rajiv J. Shah #GEAPP Congrats Andrew Herscowitz new CEO #M300accelerator ! Looking forward to finding ways to collaborate.

🌍 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗱 — 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻. More than 600 million people still live without electricity. At the current pace of traditional grid expansion, universal access may remain decades away. But a quiet revolution is happening: 🌞 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶-𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗱𝘀 🔋 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 📡 𝗔𝗠𝗜 2.0 + 𝗜𝗼𝗧 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 📱 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 These aren’t charity projects — they’re commercial, scalable, and transformative. Mini-grids can be built in 6–12 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀, unlock new local economies, and protect revenue with digital-first design. They are the fastest, smartest bridge to universal electrification. This week’s 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 explores: • Why centralized grids alone can’t meet Africa’s demand • How mini-grids create bankable energy access • The digital technologies that make scale possible • A vision for interconnected rural mini-grids forming future national networks Africa is not behind — it is leapfrogging. And the world should pay attention. 👉 Full article can be found below. #EnergyAccess #DigitalGrid #MiniGrids #AfricaEnergyTransition #SDG7 #DERs #SmartGrids #CleanTech

Closing the global energy gap depends on strong international cooperation, and one of the decade’s most ambitious public-private-philanthropic partnerships is well underway. The broad coalition known as Mission 300 led by The World Bank and the African Development Bank Group, and supported by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), The Rockefeller Foundation and The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, aims to bring electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. The Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit held in January last year delivered three major results. African leaders agreed on a shared vision for faster electrification, while 12 countries set out detailed plans to expand energy access. International partners also pledged significant new funding for electricity connections and for helping households shift from harmful, polluting cooking methods to cleaner, safer alternatives. During the UN General Assembly in September 2025, an additional 17 countries unveiled their national plans towards universal energy access, signaling growing momentum towards #Mission300 and #PoweringAfrica. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eHXcvzhb