World Bank announces plan to provide electricity access to 300M Africans

April 18 (UPI) -- The World Bank has announced a partnership with its African counterpart that aims to provide at least 300 million people in the continent with electricity by the end of the decade, reducing the number of Africans who lack access to power by half.

The International financier of developing countries announced the development Wednesday during its spring meetings being held until Saturday in Washington, D.C.

In a statement, the World Bank said it will connect 250 million people while the African Development Bank will connect an additional 50 million.

It said the 300 million Africans will be connected via distributed renewable energy systems or a distribution grid by 2030.

World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said during a panel discussion on the topic Wednesday that the 600 million Africans don't have access to "any power" and that getting them electricity is "mission one, two and three."

"To me, that's an unacceptable situation in the year 2024," he said.

"I think electricity is the basis by which people can get access to health, people can get access to education, people can get access to the ability to innovate and manufacture and build productivity," he continued. "If you don't have education, you don't have health, you don't have productivity you don't have jobs. There is no solution to poverty and growth and development.

In a statement, Banga said to make this plan a reality, they will need policy action from governments, money from multilateral development banks and private sector investment.

"Our aspiration will only be realized with partnership and ambition," Banga said.

The World Bank said it will require $30 billion of public sector investment to connect its responsibility of 250 million, which its International Development Association will play a critical part in providing.

Connecting these hundreds of millions of people is expected to create some $9 billion in private sector investment opportunities in just distributed renewable energy.

"Beyond that, there would be substantial opportunities for private investments in grid-connected renewable energy needed to power economies for growth," the bank said.

According to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, some 600 million Africans, or 43% of the continent's population, lack access to electricity.

The IEA said countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda are on track for full electricity access by 2030, but that most of those without electricity are located in sub-Saharan Africa and that 80% of those deprived of power reside in rural areas.