For making affordable clean energy truly accessible to Africans

Region: Sub-Saharan Africa  Sector: Energy  UN SDGs: 7, Affordable and Clean Energy; 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities

Energy availability and coverage in African households is low compared to the rest of the world; more than 640 million Africans have no energy access, and the overall energy access rate on the continent is slightly higher than 40 percent. Even among Africans who have access, total energy use is lower than elsewhere in the world; averages sit around 180 kWh per capita, compared to 13,000 kWh per capita in the United States, and about half that in Europe. Energy access is a vital determinant in other quality of life indicators and outcomes, such as those reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Energy availability impacts food access and safe preparation of meals, overall health and access to effective medical services, education, decent work and a living wage, and the responsible use of natural resources, such as wood.

Improving energy access, then, is a key priority for aid and development groups working in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it represents a significant business opportunity for private enterprises as well. The lack of energy infrastructure also represents an opportunity to develop clean energy alternatives. Put simply, in a geographic region characterized by minimal energy infrastructure, energy delivery stakeholders have the unparalleled opportunity to use the blank slate to build a system that relies primarily on renewable, clean energy sources.

Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa is one regional stakeholder working on clean energy capacity and affordable access for all Africans. Following a pilot project carried out in Zambia, where it successfully connected 185,000 households and provided electricity for approximately 960,000 people, Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa announced a new project in 2023 that seeks to expand energy coverage on the continent in a big way. Its Energy Subscription Program is now being rolled out in five countries — Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia — where it expects to achieve a total coverage of 6 million people by the project’s final phase in 2025.

Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa recognizes that the objectives established by the UN SDGs are ambitious and will be challenging to achieve, noting that “by 2030, nearly 600,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa alone will still not have access to electricity” if current electrification trends continue. The majority of these people work and live in households and in rural and peri-urban areas that are not connected to the central power grid. What’s more, geographic features and population dispersal make getting connected expensive or too technically challenging.

The organization seeks to overcome these challenges by enrolling as many currently non-connected households and businesses as possible in its subscription program, which connects consumers to off-grid energy providers. The current phase of the program achieved a number of key milestones in 2023. One of the main accomplishments was the provision of more than 210,000 energy service subscriptions, which impacted 1,500 small- and medium-enterprise businesses by channeling 6,500 MWh of clean electricity. The benefits were passed along to the environment, too; this clean energy production represented a reduction of 15,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

A core component of Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa’s program is attracting international investors for off-grid, clean energy generation. Historically, the organization says, investors have viewed the region and its renewables sector as a risky investment, but the success of the pilot program and the roll out of the Energy Subscription project, give investors confidence. In 2023, Beyond the Grid secured 32 million euros in funding and contracted 12 Sub-Saharan companies to provide off-grid energy. The total capacity expected to be created through these investments and contracts corresponds to 776,000 new energy service subscriptions, which are projected to impact 3.8 million people living in rural areas.