NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Why Africa Must Embrace Shared Ownership?

In the global competition for capital, size matters.

The breakdown of multilateralism and aid flows, alongside rising conflict in the Middle East, is redrawing capital allocation and sharpening investors’ search for stability and scale. Scale has also become a defining corporate imperative, as leading nations in Asia and North America are leveraging advanced technological expertise – from clean energy and digital platforms to manufacturing and finance – to project influence through their major companies. As for Europe, having created the world’s most integrated common market, it is now seeking to better harness this strength to foster more truly continental champions like Airbus, recognising the cost of overlooking this fundamental shift:

Scale is no longer an option. It is the first line of defence.
In this new world, can Africa rise to the occasion? The continent has demonstrated resilience, with growth rates rising, sovereign ratings improving, and the AfDB securing record replenishment. But as the European experience has shown, if Africa is to compete on the global landscape, reaching the necessary scale will require not only removing the physical and regulatory barriers but also encouraging the emergence of truly continental champions and projects. Achieving this will mean moving beyond a mindset sometimes anchored in economic patriotism and embracing a new vision: shared ownership.

Shared ownership offers Africa its clearest path to scale.

“Power at Peak” webinar series, organised under the Energy Transition Preparedness Initiative (ETPI) deliberates on India’s rapidly evolving electricity demand landscape and the role of demand-side solutions. The series will comprise of three thematic webinars which explores electricity demand growth, need for energy efficient appliances and flexible demand, evolving regulatory landscape, consumer behaviour and circularity aspects, data and measurement frameworks.

Webinar 1, titled “Why Energy Efficient Appliances and Demand Side Management Matters Now?”, sets the foundation for the series by examining the rapid acceleration in electricity demand in India, particularly from the residential sector. Driven by rising temperatures, increased adoption of cooling appliances, and the emerging shift toward electric cooking, household electricity consumption is becoming a key and increasingly dynamic driver of peak demand. The session will explore how these trends are contributing to recurring summer demand spikes, placing pressure on DISCOMs and the broader power system, while also highlighting the critical role of demand-side management and energy-efficient appliances in managing load growth, improving system reliability, and shaping more sustainable consumption patterns.

This webinar series builds up on ETPI research ‘DISCOM Initiatives to Promote Energy-Efficient Appliances and Equipment’ to create an enabling ecosystem for implementation of demand side management programs by facilitating knowledge sharing and foster collaboration across consumers, utilities, regulators and market actors.