African Leaders Endorse Dar es Salaam Declaration at Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit

African heads of state, energy ministers, and development finance leaders converged in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit, where participants endorsed the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration and committed to a joint framework for expanding electricity access across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.

The Summit was hosted by the Government of Tanzania, which has expanded its electricity grid to reach nearly 100 percent of villages over the last decade, in partnership with the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank. Mission 300 is a joint WBG and AfDB initiative to connect 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030. The WBG has committed to connecting 250 million people and the AfDB the remaining 50 million under the initiative.

Twelve African countries presented detailed National Energy Compacts at the Summit, outlining country-specific policy actions and investment plans to fast-track electrification. The compacts follow a common structure focused on five priority reform areas: expanding cost-efficient power generation, boosting regional power integration for cross-border trade, scaling last-mile electrification with distributed renewable energy, unlocking private investment through supportive regulatory frameworks, and strengthening utilities with transparent financial management and cost recovery.

Mission 300 partners pledged more than USD 50 billion in support of the initiative. The World Bank Group estimates that delivering the full 300 million connection target will require approximately USD 30 billion in public funding and at least USD 10 billion in private investment. The WBG has announced plans to increase its annual average financing from USD 3 billion to more than USD 5 billion per year for energy in Sub-Saharan Africa, enabled in part by the recent record replenishment of the International Development Association.

Approximately 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to electricity, representing 83 percent of the global energy deficit. Eight out of ten people without electricity in the region live in fragile, remote, or conflict-affected areas, meaning that distributed renewable energy solutions including mini-grids and standalone solar systems are expected to play a significant role in reaching the Mission 300 target alongside conventional grid extension.

Supporting partners announced at the Summit include the Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Sustainable Energy for All, and the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program.