Finance

Scaling up or scaling back?

Achieving the best funding model for renewable energy schemes is proving a challenge, but patience will be key, writes James Gavin When the World Bank’s Scaling Solar iniative was recently called “a victim of its own success”, the response from the Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was suitably pithy. A letter […]

An All-of-Alliance Approach to Access

Collaboration is required to drive down the cost of much-needed clean energy solutions Africa urgently needs to find more innovative ways of connecting public and private investment to close the finance gap, to accelerate the transition to cleaner energies, and to ensure universal access to electricity on the continent. No one actor can solve this. Rather, a […]

Mission Critical: How Africa can Profit from its Mineral Boom

Africa has at least a fifth of the world’s reserves in a dozen minerals that are critical for the energy transition. With China and the US desperate for supplies, how can the continent harness this extraordinary opportunity? Writes David Thomas In the tree-topped southern hills of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, the sprawling Balama mining complex […]

Geothermal Race Heats up Africa

Kenya has led the way in developing its geothermal energy resources – with support from the land of ice and fire, Iceland. Can its neighbours catch up? Reports Ben Payton Africa is breaking apart – literally. From the Gulf of Aden in the north, all the way to Mozambique in the south, the African continental […]

Solar Leads the way as Africa Attracts Fresh Renewables Investment

Some large renewable energy projects are coming to fruition, even if the investment climate for African renewables remains fragile, reports Ian Lewis The case for developing Africa’s copious renewable energy resources to overcome the continent’s huge power deficit has always been strong. It’s a case that has become all the more compelling given the intensifying […]

Traditional Energy Projects Face up to Funding Challenges

How is Africa’s oil and gas sector dealing with ESG constraints? Development finance is still available for gas-to-power and LNG, but some oil projects are struggling to tap commercial lending support, writes James Gavin The news in early May of this year that Standard Chartered Bank would not be financing the East African Crude Oil […]

Saying YES! to a Bright Future for African Energy

Guiding the next generation to generate their own visions for a more sustainable world The Youth Energy Summit (YES!) is returning for its second edition at this summer’s Africa Energy Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, as it looks to build on the platform established last year to boost skills, connections and the business readiness of future […]

Interview with , British International Investment

A lack of adequate financing for tackling climate change in Africa has become dire and is "choking" the continent, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said this week. How can investors like BII bridge the gap? As the UK's development finance institution, British International Investment is the UK government's primary vehicle for climate finance. Our […]

Green Hydrogen at Heart of Namibia’s Vision 2030

Harry Clynch spoke to James Mnyupe, Economic Advisor to the President of Namibia, about the key role of green hydrogen in the country’s development plan Around the world, industrialised economies are looking to undergo green transitions. Countries across Europe and North America particularly are seeking to reduce their dependence on carbon and fossil fuels by […]

Unleashing Africa’s Potential, in ‘Private’

The private sector will play a crucial role in channelling innovation towards universal access ambitions The rate of electrification in sub-Saharan Africa needs to triple in order to achieve universal access by 2030, and the private sector will be absolutely pivotal in helping to realise that aim. This is due to the simultaneous need to […]

The Role of Renewables: Setting an Example to the World

It’s time to harness the world’s leading array of renewable natural energy resources to meet growing demands Insufficient infrastructure, limited access to financing and regulatory barriers are just three obstacles that need to be addressed as part of Africa’s targeted energy transition. However, if these elements are overcome, the potential of the continent’s renewable resources […]

Bioenergy offers Africa a sustainable future

What are the benefits and costs of scaling-up the commercial production of bioenergy in Africa? Does biofuel really have to displace food production? Reports Ben Payton Producing energy from bio-based materials, advocates suggest, offers a means for Africa to take a huge leap towards net zero carbon emissions. It will, they say, also boost rural livelihoods […]

How NIWIMNRO is Transforming the Sector for Women

EnergyNet spoke to Felicia Dairo from the Nigerian Indigenous Women in Mining and Natural Resource Organisation (NIWIMNRO) prior to their upcoming launch that is taking place on the 15th July in Abuja, Nigeria about NIWIMNRO and what they hope to achieve in the future. What inspired the creation of NIWIMNRO? It all began with a […]

AMDA and UNDP Partner to Accelerate Minigrid Deployment Across Africa

Cape Town, 25 June 2025 — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in accelerating the deployment of sustainable minigrids across Africa. The MoU was signed on 19 June during the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) held in Cape Town, South Africa. The […]

Battery Storage

Globeleq’s Red Sands Battery Energy Storage Project Reaches Financial Close

CAPE TOWN, 1 July 2025: Globeleq, a leading independent power company in Africa and its project partner, African Rainbow Energy, have reached financial close on the 153 MW/612 MWh Red Sands battery energy storage project (BESS) in South Africa. The project is Africa’s largest standalone BESS facility to reach financial close. Signing of the project […]

TDB Group Signs Landmark Agreements With Leading Dre And Clean Cooking Companies To Deliver Clean Energy Access For 3 Million People Within A Year, As Part Of An Initial String Of Deals

The agreements signed on the sidelines of AEF are part of TDB Group’s Regional Energy Access Financing Platform, a first-of-its-kind platform supported by the World Bank’s ASCENT Program under Mission 300 Cape Town, 19 June 2025 – The Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group), and its concessional and grant window, the Trade and Development […]

Richard Nelson, Coordinator, Power Africa

Speaker presenting at AEF event

Tech & Power Generation

The Energy Debate: Fossil Fuels vs. Renewables in Africa

H.E Honourable Sédiko Douka, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy & Digitalisation, ECOWAS

H.E Honourable Sédiko Douka, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy & Digitalisation, ECOWAS

H.E. Honourable Charles Umehai, Deputy Minister for Energy, Republic of Liberia: WA-ECS 2024

H.E. Honourable Charles Umehai, Deputy Minister for Energy, Republic of Liberia: WA-ECS 2024

aef 2025: Accelerating Partnerships to Develop Africa’s Energy Markets

Abstract image featuring elongated shapes

Joseph Anis, President & CEO, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Gas Power, GE Vernova

View from below of a metal structure

Gqi Raoleka, MD, Pele Green Energy

Ademola Ogunbanjo, Executive Vice President, Oando Clean Energy