African Development Bank Seeks to Spur $55 Billion for Energy
Friday, September 18, 2015
African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, who took over this month, said he’s aiming to eliminate Africa’s energy deficit by 2025 by mobilizing $55 billion of investment.
Termed the “New Deal for Energy in Africa,” the continent’s largest development bank said the plan will significantly raise its support for energy projects and that its partners should also scale up efforts. The proposal also called for African countries to increase financing for the development of the energy industry.
“A lot of financing is needed,” Adesina said in a speech on Thursday in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast, where the bank is based. “We must close the $55 billion financing gap for energy in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Adesina served as Nigeria’s minister of agriculture and rural development before being chosen to lead the development bank. The deal is the first initiative he’s announced in his new role. The bank spent $2 billion on energy projects in 2014, with $650 million in power generation. Over 80 percent of the generation projects were renewable energy.
About 620 million people in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have access to electricity, according to data from the International Energy Agency. Demand for energy is soaring, with a 45 percent jump between 2000 and 2012, according to the IEA.
Source: Bloomberg (link opens in a new window)
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